title: Alternative splicing and gene duplication are inversely correlated evolutionary mechanisms.
abstract: Gene duplication and alternative splicing are distinct evolutionary mechanisms that provide the raw material for new biological functions. We explored their relationships in human and mouse and found an inverse correlation between the size of a gene's family and its use of alternatively spliced isoforms. A cross-organism analysis suggests that selection for genome-wide genic proliferation might be interchangeably met by either evolutionary mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
authors.forename: Naama M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Kopelman
authors.forename: Doron
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lancet
authors.forename: Itai
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yanai
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D020440:Gene Duplication; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D012641:Selection, Genetic