Cases Of Alternative Splicing Research Articles

Exitron splicing of odor receptor genes in Drosophila

Proper expression of odor receptor genes is critical for the function of olfactory systems. In this study, we identified exitrons (exonic introns) in four of the 39 Odorant receptor (Or) genes expressed in the Drosophila antenna. Exitrons are sequences that can be spliced out from within a protein-coding exon, thereby altering the encoded protein. We focused on Or88a, which encodes a pheromone receptor, and found that exitron splicing of Or88a is conserved across five Drosophila species over 20 My of evolution. The exitron was spliced out in 15% of Or88a transcripts. Removal of this exitron creates a non-coding RNA rather than an RNA that encodes a stable protein. Our results suggest the hypothesis that in the case of Or88a, exitron splicing could act in neuronal modulation by decreasing the level of functional Or transcripts. Activation of Or88a-expressing olfactory receptor neurons via either optogenetics or pheromone stimulation increased the level of exitron-spliced transcripts, with optogenetic activation leading to a 14-fold increase. A fifth Or can also undergo an alternative splicing event that eliminates most of the canonical open reading frame. Besides these cases of alternative splicing, we found alternative polyadenylation of four Ors, and exposure of Or67c to its ligand ethyl lactate in the antenna downregulated all of its 3' isoforms. Our study reveals mechanisms by which neuronal activity could be modulated via regulation of the levels of Or isoforms.

Transcriptome analysis of the parasite Encephalitozoon cuniculi: an in-depth examination of pre-mRNA splicing in a reduced eukaryote

BackgroundThe microsporidian Encephalitozoon cuniculi possesses one of the most reduced and compacted eukaryotic genomes. Reduction in this intracellular parasite has affected major cellular machinery, including the loss of over fifty core spliceosomal components compared to S. cerevisiae. To identify expression changes throughout the parasite’s life cycle and also to assess splicing in the context of this reduced system, we examined the transcriptome of E. cuniculi using Illumina RNA-seq.ResultsWe observed that nearly all genes are expressed at three post-infection time-points examined. A large fraction of genes are differentially expressed between the first and second (37.7%) and first and third (43.8%) time-points, while only four genes are differentially expressed between the latter two. Levels of intron splicing are very low, with 81% of junctions spliced at levels below 50%. This is dramatically lower than splicing levels found in two other fungal species examined. We also describe the first case of alternative splicing in a microsporidian, an unexpected complexity given the reduction in spliceosomal components.ConclusionsLow levels of splicing observed are likely the result of an inefficient spliceosome; however, at least in one case, splicing appears to be playing a functional role. Although several RNA decay genes are encoded in E. cuniculi, the lack of a few key players could be reducing decay levels and therefore increasing the proportion of unspliced transcripts. Significant proportions of genes are differentially expressed in the first forty-eight hours but not after, indicative of genetic changes that precede the intracellular to infective stage transition.

Alternative Splicing Regulates Targeting of Malate Dehydrogenase in Yarrowia lipolytica

Alternative pre-mRNA splicing is a major mechanism contributing to the proteome complexity of most eukaryotes, especially mammals. In less complex organisms, such as yeasts, the numbers of genes that contain introns are low and cases of alternative splicing (AS) with functional implications are rare. We report the first case of AS with functional consequences in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. The splicing pattern was found to govern the cellular localization of malate dehydrogenase, an enzyme of the central carbon metabolism. This ubiquitous enzyme is involved in the tricarboxylic acid cycle in mitochondria and in the glyoxylate cycle, which takes place in peroxisomes and the cytosol. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, three genes encode three compartment-specific enzymes. In contrast, only two genes exist in Y. lipolytica. One gene (YlMDH1, YALI0D16753g) encodes a predicted mitochondrial protein, whereas the second gene (YlMDH2, YALI0E14190g) generates the cytosolic and peroxisomal forms through the alternative use of two 3′-splice sites in the second intron. Both splicing variants were detected in cDNA libraries obtained from cells grown under different conditions. Mutants expressing the individual YlMdh2p isoforms tagged with fluorescent proteins confirmed that they localized to either the cytosolic or the peroxisomal compartment.

Single-Molecule Imaging of Transcriptionally Coupled and Uncoupled Splicing

Introns are removed from pre-mRNAs during transcription while the pre-mRNA is still tethered to the gene locus via RNA polymerase. However, during alternative splicing, it is important that splicing be deferred until all of the exons and introns involved in the choice have been synthesized. We have developed an in situ RNA imaging method with single-molecule sensitivity to define the intracellular sites of splicing. Using this approach, we found that the normally tight coupling between transcription and splicing is broken in situations where the intron's polypyrimidine tract is sequestered within strong secondary structures. We also found that in two cases of alternative splicing, in which certain exons are skipped due to the activity of the RNA-binding proteins Sxl and PTB, splicing is uncoupled from transcription. This uncoupling occurs only on the perturbed introns, whereas the preceding and succeeding introns are removed cotranscriptionally. PAPERCLIP:

Detection and analysis of alternative splicing in Yarrowia lipolytica reveal structural constraints facilitating nonsense-mediated decay of intron-retaining transcripts

BackgroundHemiascomycetous yeasts have intron-poor genomes with very few cases of alternative splicing. Most of the reported examples result from intron retention in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and some have been shown to be functionally significant. Here we used transcriptome-wide approaches to evaluate the mechanisms underlying the generation of alternative transcripts in Yarrowia lipolytica, a yeast highly divergent from S. cerevisiae.ResultsExperimental investigation of Y. lipolytica gene models identified several cases of alternative splicing, mostly generated by intron retention, principally affecting the first intron of the gene. The retention of introns almost invariably creates a premature termination codon, as a direct consequence of the structure of intron boundaries. An analysis of Y. lipolytica introns revealed that introns of multiples of three nucleotides in length, particularly those without stop codons, were underrepresented. In other organisms, premature termination codon-containing transcripts are targeted for degradation by the nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) machinery. In Y. lipolytica, homologs of S. cerevisiae UPF1 and UPF2 genes were identified, but not UPF3. The inactivation of Y. lipolytica UPF1 and UPF2 resulted in the accumulation of unspliced transcripts of a test set of genes.ConclusionsY. lipolytica is the hemiascomycete with the most intron-rich genome sequenced to date, and it has several unusual genes with large introns or alternative transcription start sites, or introns in the 5' UTR. Our results suggest Y. lipolytica intron structure is subject to significant constraints, leading to the under-representation of stop-free introns. Consequently, intron-containing transcripts are degraded by a functional NMD pathway.

Identification of Alternative Splicing Changes in Erythroid Differentiation Using Human Exon Arrays.

Terminal erythroid differentiation is accompanied by extensive structural remodeling as the cell enucleates and eventually assumes the biconcave disk morphology of the mature cell. Previous studies have documented many changes at the transcriptional level essential for erythroid differentiation. Changes in erythroid gene expression also occur at the level of pre-mRNA alternative splicing: the activation of 4.1R (EPB41) exon 16 splicing in late erythroblasts increases 4.1R affinity for spectrin-actin and mechanically strengthens the plasma membrane. We hypothesize that analogous changes in alternative splicing affect the structure and function of other erythroid proteins. To identify additional alternative splicing switches in erythroid genes, a genome-wide exon expression analysis was carried out using the new Affymetrix Human Exon 1.0 ST Array. Unlike traditional gene expression microarrays, this array has single exon resolution and can detect changes in expression due to alternative splicing. Samples for array analyses were prepared from RNA of human erythroid progenitor cells grown in culture for 7, 10, and 14 days, corresponding to basophilic, polychromatic, and orthochromatic stages. Analysis of this exon array data confirmed that 4.1R exon 16 splicing was activated in day 14 cells, and that a known inhibitor of exon 16 splicing, hnRNP A1, was down-regulated in coordination with the 4.1R splicing switch. As another positive control, we confirmed in array data the expression of a known erythroid-specific 3′ end in beta-spectrin mRNA in all three time points of erythroblasts, while array data from muscle tissue showed expression of only the non-erythroid 3′ end of beta-spectrin. Array data is now being analyzed to identify new cases of alternative splicing during erythropoiesis, and confirmation of several candidate splicing switches by RT-PCR and quantitative PCR is under way. A number of genes, including PIK3R1, SLC12A6, and TNPO2, show changes in alternative 5′ first exon usage during late erythropoiesis. A splicing change involving an internal cassette exon in MBNL2, which encodes a splicing regulator, was identified by array data and confirmed by RT-PCR. In addition, overall gene expression analyses confirm up-regulation of known genes expressed during erythroid differentiation, including Band 3, GLUT1, ALAS2, and BCL2L1. This preliminary analysis demonstrates the application of exon arrays toward the identification of splicing switches that occur during differentiation of human erythroblasts. Further validation of putative alternative splicing events is in progress, and investigation of the regulation of the validated events and the physiological implications of the predicted changes in the proteins will be pursued in the future.

A phylogenetic generalized hidden Markov model for predicting alternatively spliced exons.

BackgroundAn important challenge in eukaryotic gene prediction is accurate identification of alternatively spliced exons. Functional transcripts can go undetected in gene expression studies when alternative splicing only occurs under specific biological conditions. Non-expression based computational methods support identification of rarely expressed transcripts.ResultsA non-expression based statistical method is presented to annotate alternatively spliced exons using a single genome sequence and evidence from cross-species sequence conservation. The computational method is implemented in the program ExAlt and an analysis of prediction accuracy is given for Drosophila melanogaster.ConclusionExAlt identifies the structure of most alternatively spliced exons in the test set and cross-species sequence conservation is shown to improve the precision of predictions. The software package is available to run on Drosophila genomes to search for new cases of alternative splicing.

Chapter 9 Alternative mRNA splicing in the nervous system

Publisher Summary The product of transcription, termed the precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA), heterogenous nuclear RNA (hnRNA) or the primary transcript, undergoes a series of nuclear processing events before a mature messenger RNA (mRNA) is produced. This chapter describes the factors that regulate the synthesis of mRNA, particularly the splicing of neuropeptide precursor mRNAs. Eukaryotic gene expression requires the activities of complex biochemical machinery to transcribe, process, and transport mature mRNA before it can be translated to yield functional products. The functional consequence of most cases of alternative splicing is the production of protein isoforms sharing extensive regions of identity and varying only in specific domains. While the splicing strategy of the Drosophila gene appears simple, it may use the mechanisms of posttranslational processing to generate diversity from its transcriptional unit. The data show that the Lymnaea gene is similarly expressed in a wide variety of cell types. However, unlike the Drosophila central nervous system (CNS), which because of its small size has not been extensively studied in terms of neuropeptide physiology, the Lymnaea CNS proves to be an ideal model system in which to perform the studies of peptidergic and nonpeptidergic neural systems.