Anything but Ordinary - Emerging Splicing Mechanisms in Eukaryotic Gene Regulation

Splicing of precursor mRNAs (pre-mRNA) is an important step during eukaryotic gene expression. The identification of the actual splice sites and the proper removal of introns are essential for the production of the desired mRNA isoforms and their encoded proteins. While the basic mechanisms of splicing regulation are well understood, recent work has uncovered a growing number of noncanonical splicing mechanisms that play key roles in the regulation of gene expression. In this review, we summarize the current principles of splicing regulation, including the impact of cis and trans regulatory elements, as well as the influence of chromatin structure, transcription, and RNA modifications. We further discuss the recent development of emerging splicing mechanisms, such as recursive and back splicing, and their impact on gene expression.

Automated summary

Splicing of precursor mRNAs is essential for eukaryotic gene expression, with accurate identification of splice sites and intron removal being crucial for producing desired mRNA isoforms. Recent research has uncovered noncanonical splicing mechanisms that play key roles in gene expression regulation, in addition to well-understood basic splicing regulation mechanisms.