Abstract. Alternative splicing of precursor mRNA is an essential mechanism to increase the complexity of gene expression, and it plays an important role in cellular differentiation and organism development. Regulation of alternative splicing is a complicated process in which numerous interacting components are at work, including cis-acting elements and trans-acting factors, and is further guided by the functional coupling between transcription and splicing. Additional molecular features, such as chromatin structure, RNA structure and alternative transcription initiation or alternative transcription termination, collaborate with these basic components to generate the protein diversity due to alternative splicing.
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