Targeting alternative splicing by RNAi: from the differential impact on splice variants to triggering artificial pre-mRNA splicing.

ABSTRACT: Alternative splicing generates multiple transcript and protein isoforms from a single gene and controls transcript intracellular localization and stability by coupling to mRNA export and nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD). RNA interference (RNAi) is a potent mechanism to modulate gene expression. However, its interactions with alternative splicing are poorly understood. We used artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs, also termed shRNAmiR) to knockdown all splice variants of selected target genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. We found that splice variants, which vary by their protein-coding capacity, subcellular localization and sensitivity to NMD, are affected differentially by an amiRNA, although all of them contain the target site. Particular transcript isoforms escape amiRNA-mediated degradation due

SUBMITTER: Fuchs A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7826280 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature