title: Expansion of the eukaryotic proteome by alternative splicing.
abstract: The collection of components required to carry out the intricate processes involved in generating and maintaining a living, breathing and, sometimes, thinking organism is staggeringly complex. Where do all of the parts come from? Early estimates stated that about 100,000 genes would be required to make up a mammal; however, the actual number is less than one-quarter of that, barely four times the number of genes in budding yeast. It is now clear that the 'missing' information is in large part provided by alternative splicing, the process by which multiple different functional messenger RNAs, and therefore proteins, can be synthesized from a single gene.
authors.affiliation: Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA. twn@case.edu
authors.forename: Timothy W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Nilsen
authors.forename: Brenton R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Graveley
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D019295:Computational Biology; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D020543:Proteome / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D020543:Proteome; D012333:RNA, Messenger