Messenger RNA surveillance and the evolutionary proliferation of introns

67Citations
Citations of this article
76Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

The mechanisms responsible for the proliferation and subsequent stabilization of introns within the eukaryotic lineage have remained elusive. In the early stages of eukaryotic evolution, most introns may have been mildly deleterious at the time of insertion, but enough of them eventually acquired integral roles in transcript processing that few eukaryotic species can any longer survive without them. We suggest that the proliferation of spliceosomal introns was facilitated by the evolution of nonsense-mediated decay, an ancient and (in many cases) intron-dependent mechanism for eliminating aberrant mRNA molecules resulting from errors in transcription and splicing and from mutations at the DNA level. The spatial distribution of introns, as revealed by whole-genome analysis, is consistent with expectations for a model in which maximum protective coverage of a gene stochastically evolves over time.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Lynch, M., & Kewalramani, A. (2003). Messenger RNA surveillance and the evolutionary proliferation of introns. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 20(4), 563–571. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msg068

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free