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Microexons: discovery, regulation, and function
Author(s) -
Ustianenko Dmytro,
WeynVanhentenryck Sebastien M.,
Zhang Chaolin
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
wiley interdisciplinary reviews: rna
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.225
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1757-7012
pISSN - 1757-7004
DOI - 10.1002/wrna.1418
Subject(s) - function (biology) , biology , evolutionary biology
The importance of RNA splicing in numerous cellular processes is well established. However, an underappreciated aspect is the ability of the spliceosome to recognize a set of very small (3–30 nucleotide, 1–10 amino acid) exons named microexons. Despite their small size, microexons and their regulation through alternative splicing have now been shown to play critical roles in protein and system function. Here we review the discovery of microexons over time and the mechanisms by which their splicing is regulated, including recent progress made through deep RNA sequencing. We also discuss the functional role of microexons in biology and disease. WIREs RNA 2017, 8:e1418. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1418 This article is categorized under: RNA Evolution and Genomics > Computational Analyses of RNA RNA Processing > Splicing Regulation/Alternative Splicing RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease