| Project Detail |
Expressing a gene (manufacturing its corresponding protein) requires transcription and translation. During transcription, the information in DNA is transferred to a messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule. During translation, the mRNA sequence is used to assemble amino acids that form the protein. In some genes, not all of the DNA sequence codes the protein. These introns are spliced out after transcription, leaving only the exons in the mature RNA molecule to make the protein. Splicing is critical to sequence evolution but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. EvolSpliceKinetics is conducting the first genome-wide study of exon and intron definition. Pioneering sequencing in a model organism combined with machine learning and population genetics should provide unprecedented insight into the evolutionary role of splicing kinetics. |
