alternative splicing

noun

variants: also alternative RNA splicing

Medical Definition of alternative splicing

: a mechanism in which different combinations of exons are joined together during the final stages of transcription so that more than one messenger RNA is produced from a single gene In complex genes, alternative splicing can generate dozens or even hundreds of different mRNA isoforms from a single transcript.— Vivien Marx, Genomics & Proteomics

— called also differential splicing

Note: Alternative splicing produces different messenger RNAs especially through the removal of one or more exons. Since each messenger RNA produced forms a different protein product, this mechanism enables a gene to encode multiple proteins that are structurally and functionally distinct.

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alternative splicing

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Cite this Entry

“Alternative splicing.” Merriam-Webster.com Medical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/alternative%20splicing. Accessed 28 Jun. 2022.

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