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RNA processing and the evolution of eukaryotes

Nature Genetics volume 21, pages 265–269 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

In eukaryotes, RNA processing events, including alternative splicing and RNA editing, can generate many different messages from a single gene. As a consequence, the RNA pool, which we refer to here as the 'ribotype', has a different information content from the genotype and can vary as circumstances change. The outcome of a single RNA processing event often regulates the outcome of another, giving rise to networks that affect the composition and expression of a particular ribotype. Successful ribotypes are determined by natural selection, and can be incorporated into the genome over time by reverse transcription. Eukaryotic evolution is therefore influenced by the alternate ways in which RNAs are processed and the continual interplay between RNA and DNA.

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Figure 1: Due to extensive processing of pre-mRNA, different ribotypes can be assembled from a genome, each determining a unique phenotype on which natural selection can act.
Figure 2: Sex determination in Drosophila involves a splicing cascade, whereby one RNA processing event regulates another.
Figure 3: Double-stranded RNA adenosine deaminase converts a glutamine codon in a glutamic receptor subunit pre-mRNA to an arginine codon.

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Acknowledgements

We thank K. Lowenhaupt and A. Varshavsky for a critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

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    Alan Herbert & Alexander Rich

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Correspondence to Alan Herbert.

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Herbert, A., Rich, A. RNA processing and the evolution of eukaryotes. Nat Genet 21, 265–269 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/6780

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