DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Distinct Patterns of Expression and Evolution of Intronless and Intron-Containing Mammalian Genes

Journal Article · · Molecular Biology and Evolution
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [2]
  1. National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD (United States). National Library of Medicine (NLM). National Center for Biotechnology Information; DOE/OSTI
  2. National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD (United States). National Library of Medicine (NLM). National Center for Biotechnology Information
  3. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Mathematics
  4. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  5. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Bethesda, MD (United States). Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Division of Therapeutic Proteins

Comparison of expression levels and breadth and evolutionary rates of intronless and intron-containing mammalian genes shows that intronless genes are expressed at lower levels, tend to be tissue specific, and evolve significantly faster than spliced genes. By contrast, monomorphic spliced genes that are not subject to detectable alternative splicing and polymorphic alternatively spliced genes show similar statistically indistinguishable patterns of expression and evolution. Alternative splicing is most common in ancient genes, whereas intronless genes appear to have relatively recent origins. These results imply tight coupling between different stages of gene expression, in particular, transcription, splicing, and nucleocytosolic transport of transcripts, and suggest that formation of intronless genes is an important route of evolution of novel tissue-specific functions in animals.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Biological Systems Science Division
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1625395
Journal Information:
Molecular Biology and Evolution, Journal Name: Molecular Biology and Evolution Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 27; ISSN 0737-4038
Publisher:
Oxford University PressCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (53)

Alternative splicing: current perspectives journal January 2008
Relationship between mRNA stability and intron presence journal March 2007
Metazoan replication-dependent histone mRNAs: a distinct set of RNA polymerase II transcripts journal June 2005
Alternative Splicing: New Insights from Global Analyses journal July 2006
The non-random distribution of intronless human genes across molecular function categories journal June 2006
The evolving roles of alternative splicing journal June 2004
How prevalent is functional alternative splicing in the human genome? journal February 2004
A Conserved mRNA Export Machinery Coupled to pre-mRNA Splicing journal February 2002
Why are human G-protein-coupled receptors predominantly intronless? journal February 1999
Alternative isoform regulation in human tissue transcriptomes journal November 2008
The evolution of spliceosomal introns: patterns, puzzles and progress journal March 2006
Coupling and coordination in gene expression processes: a systems biology view journal January 2008
Identification and analysis of alternative splicing events conserved in human and mouse journal February 2005
Splicing promotes rapid and efficient mRNA export in mammalian cells journal February 2008
The universal distribution of evolutionary rates of genes and distinct characteristics of eukaryotic genes of different apparent ages journal April 2009
On "genomenclature": a comprehensive (and respectful) taxonomy for pseudogenes and other "junk DNA". journal November 1992
Highly Expressed Genes in Yeast Evolve Slowly journal June 2001
Conservation and Coevolution in the Scale-Free Human Gene Coexpression Network journal July 2004
Genome-wide detection of alternative splicing in expressed sequences of human genes journal July 2001
Splicing enhances translation in mammalian cells: an additional function of the exon junction complex journal January 2004
Frequent Alternative Splicing of Human Genes journal December 1999
Functional and evolutionary analysis of alternatively spliced genes is consistent with an early eukaryotic origin of alternative splicing journal January 2007
Width of Gene Expression Profile Drives Alternative Splicing journal October 2008
Expression Patterns of Protein Kinases Correlate with Gene Architecture and Evolutionary Rates journal October 2008
Alternative splicing: current perspectives journal January 2008
A Conserved mRNA Export Machinery Coupled to pre-mRNA Splicing journal February 2002
Many G-protein-coupled receptors are encoded by retrogenes journal August 1999
How introns influence and enhance eukaryotic gene expression journal April 2003
Evolutionary rate variation in eukaryotic lineage specific human intronless proteins journal December 2005
Relationship between mRNA stability and intron presence journal March 2007
Metazoan replication-dependent histone mRNAs: a distinct set of RNA polymerase II transcripts journal June 2005
Alternative Splicing: New Insights from Global Analyses journal July 2006
The non-random distribution of intronless human genes across molecular function categories journal June 2006
The evolving roles of alternative splicing journal June 2004
How prevalent is functional alternative splicing in the human genome? journal February 2004
An extensive network of coupling among gene expression machines journal April 2002
Systems‐level analyses identify extensive coupling among gene expression machines journal January 2006
Alternative isoform regulation in human tissue transcriptomes journal November 2008
The evolution of spliceosomal introns: patterns, puzzles and progress journal March 2006
Coupling and coordination in gene expression processes: a systems biology view journal January 2008
The evolutionary consequences of erroneous protein synthesis journal October 2009
Identification and analysis of alternative splicing events conserved in human and mouse journal February 2005
Splicing promotes rapid and efficient mRNA export in mammalian cells journal February 2008
The universal distribution of evolutionary rates of genes and distinct characteristics of eukaryotic genes of different apparent ages journal April 2009
On "genomenclature": a comprehensive (and respectful) taxonomy for pseudogenes and other "junk DNA". journal November 1992
Highly Expressed Genes in Yeast Evolve Slowly journal June 2001
Conservation and Coevolution in the Scale-Free Human Gene Coexpression Network journal July 2004
Genome-wide detection of alternative splicing in expressed sequences of human genes journal July 2001
Splicing enhances translation in mammalian cells: an additional function of the exon junction complex journal January 2004
Frequent Alternative Splicing of Human Genes journal December 1999
Functional and evolutionary analysis of alternatively spliced genes is consistent with an early eukaryotic origin of alternative splicing journal January 2007
Width of Gene Expression Profile Drives Alternative Splicing journal October 2008
Expression Patterns of Protein Kinases Correlate with Gene Architecture and Evolutionary Rates journal October 2008

Cited By (113)

De Novo Truncating Mutations in AHDC1 in Individuals with Syndromic Expressive Language Delay, Hypotonia, and Sleep Apnea journal May 2014
The Earliest Transcribed Zygotic Genes Are Short, Newly Evolved, and Different across Species journal January 2014
Origins and Impacts of New Mammalian Exons journal March 2015
PTTG2 silencing results in induction of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and apoptosis journal March 2013
Cubozoan genome illuminates functional diversification of opsins and photoreceptor evolution journal July 2015
Genome structure and metabolic features in the red seaweed Chondrus crispus shed light on evolution of the Archaeplastida journal March 2013
The coupled effect of nucleosome organization on gene transcription level and transcriptional plasticity journal November 2017
Connections between Alternative Transcription and Alternative Splicing in Mammals journal January 2010
Genes from the TAS1R and TAS2R Families of Taste Receptors: Looking for Signatures of Their Adaptive Role in Human Evolution journal April 2018
Evolution at protein ends: major contribution of alternative transcription initiation and termination to the transcriptome and proteome diversity in mammals journal May 2014
Where does transcription start? 5′-RACE adapted to next-generation sequencing journal November 2015
Genome-wide features of introns are evolutionary decoupled among themselves and from genome size throughout Eukarya posted_content March 2018
Why eukaryotic cells use introns to enhance gene expression: Splicing reduces transcription-associated mutagenesis by inhibiting topoisomerase I cutting activity journal January 2011
Phylogenetic and genomic analyses of the ribosomal oxygenases Riox1 (No66) and Riox2 (Mina53) provide new insights into their evolution journal June 2018
Gammaretroviral pol sequences act in cis to direct polysome loading and NXF1/NXT-dependent protein production by gag-encoded RNA journal September 2014
Exon size and sequence conservation improves identification of splice-altering nucleotides journal September 2019
Evolution of intron splicing towards optimized gene expression is based on various Cis- and Trans-molecular mechanisms journal August 2019
Enhancement of Transcription by a Splicing-Competent Intron Is Dependent on Promoter Directionality journal May 2016
DFA7, a New Method to Distinguish between Intron-Containing and Intronless Genes journal July 2014
The Mapping of Predicted Triplex DNA:RNA in the Drosophila Genome Reveals a Prominent Location in Development- and Morphogenesis-Related Genes journal July 2017
The Function of Introns journal January 2012
Heme-Peroxidase 2, a Peroxinectin-Like Gene, Regulates Bacterial Homeostasis in Anopheles stephensi Midgut journal September 2020
Molecular Evolution and Functional Diversification of Replication Protein A1 in Plants journal January 2016
The Reprimo Gene Family: A Novel Gene Lineage in Gastric Cancer with Tumor Suppressive Properties journal June 2018
Introns: The Functional Benefits of Introns in Genomes journal January 2015
Additional file 1 of Genome-wide identification, expression analysis, and functional study of the GRAS transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 2 of Genome-wide identification, expression analysis, and functional study of the GRAS transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 3 of Genome-wide identification, expression analysis, and functional study of the GRAS transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 4 of Genome-wide identification, expression analysis, and functional study of the GRAS transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 5 of Genome-wide identification, expression analysis, and functional study of the GRAS transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 6 of Genome-wide identification, expression analysis, and functional study of the GRAS transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 7 of Genome-wide identification, expression analysis, and functional study of the GRAS transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 8 of Genome-wide identification, expression analysis, and functional study of the GRAS transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 9 of Genome-wide identification, expression analysis, and functional study of the GRAS transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 1 of Genome-wide identification and expression profile analysis of trihelix transcription factor family genes in response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 2 of Genome-wide identification and expression profile analysis of trihelix transcription factor family genes in response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 3 of Genome-wide identification and expression profile analysis of trihelix transcription factor family genes in response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 4 of Genome-wide identification and expression profile analysis of trihelix transcription factor family genes in response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 5 of Genome-wide identification and expression profile analysis of trihelix transcription factor family genes in response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 6 of Genome-wide identification and expression profile analysis of trihelix transcription factor family genes in response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] dataset January 2021
Additional file 7 of Genome-wide identification and expression profile analysis of trihelix transcription factor family genes in response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] image January 2021
Additional file 8 of Genome-wide identification and expression profile analysis of trihelix transcription factor family genes in response to abiotic stress in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] image January 2021
Additional file 10 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) image January 2021
Additional file 11 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) image January 2021
Additional file 12 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) image January 2021
Additional file 13 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) image January 2021
Additional file 14 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) image January 2021
Additional file 15 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) image January 2021
Additional file 1 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) dataset January 2021
Additional file 2 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) dataset January 2021
Additional file 3 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) dataset January 2021
Additional file 4 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) dataset January 2021
Additional file 5 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) dataset January 2021
Additional file 6 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) dataset January 2021
Additional file 7 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) dataset January 2021
Additional file 8 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) dataset January 2021
Additional file 9 of Genome-wide investigation of the GRAS transcription factor family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) dataset January 2021
Additional file 3 of Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the bZIP transcription factor family genes in response to abiotic stress in Nicotiana tabacum L. dataset January 2022
Additional file 4 of Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the bZIP transcription factor family genes in response to abiotic stress in Nicotiana tabacum L. dataset January 2022
Additional file 5 of Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the bZIP transcription factor family genes in response to abiotic stress in Nicotiana tabacum L. dataset January 2022
Additional file 6 of Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the bZIP transcription factor family genes in response to abiotic stress in Nicotiana tabacum L. dataset January 2022
Additional file 7 of Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the bZIP transcription factor family genes in response to abiotic stress in Nicotiana tabacum L. dataset January 2022
Additional file 10 of Genome-wide survey and expression analysis of GRAS transcription factor family in sweetpotato provides insights into their potential roles in stress response dataset January 2022
Additional file 11 of Genome-wide survey and expression analysis of GRAS transcription factor family in sweetpotato provides insights into their potential roles in stress response dataset January 2022
Additional file 5 of Genome-wide survey and expression analysis of GRAS transcription factor family in sweetpotato provides insights into their potential roles in stress response dataset January 2022
Additional file 6 of Genome-wide survey and expression analysis of GRAS transcription factor family in sweetpotato provides insights into their potential roles in stress response dataset January 2022
Additional file 7 of Genome-wide survey and expression analysis of GRAS transcription factor family in sweetpotato provides insights into their potential roles in stress response dataset January 2022
Additional file 1 of Genome-wide identification and characterization of the SPL gene family and its expression in the various developmental stages and stress conditions in foxtail millet (Setaria italica) dataset January 2022
Additional file 2 of Genome-wide identification and characterization of the SPL gene family and its expression in the various developmental stages and stress conditions in foxtail millet (Setaria italica) dataset January 2022
Additional file 3 of Genome-wide identification and characterization of the SPL gene family and its expression in the various developmental stages and stress conditions in foxtail millet (Setaria italica) dataset January 2022
Additional file 4 of Genome-wide identification and characterization of the SPL gene family and its expression in the various developmental stages and stress conditions in foxtail millet (Setaria italica) dataset January 2022
Additional file 5 of Genome-wide identification and characterization of the SPL gene family and its expression in the various developmental stages and stress conditions in foxtail millet (Setaria italica) dataset January 2022
Additional file 6 of Genome-wide identification and characterization of the SPL gene family and its expression in the various developmental stages and stress conditions in foxtail millet (Setaria italica) dataset January 2022
Additional file 7 of Genome-wide identification and characterization of the SPL gene family and its expression in the various developmental stages and stress conditions in foxtail millet (Setaria italica) dataset January 2022
Additional file 8 of Genome-wide identification and characterization of the SPL gene family and its expression in the various developmental stages and stress conditions in foxtail millet (Setaria italica) dataset January 2022
Additional file 9 of Genome-wide identification and characterization of the SPL gene family and its expression in the various developmental stages and stress conditions in foxtail millet (Setaria italica) dataset January 2022
Additional file 10 of Genome-wide identification, phylogenetic analysis, and expression profiles of trihelix transcription factor family genes in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) under abiotic stress conditions dataset January 2022
Additional file 1 of Genome-wide identification, phylogenetic analysis, and expression profiles of trihelix transcription factor family genes in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) under abiotic stress conditions dataset January 2022
Additional file 2 of Genome-wide identification, phylogenetic analysis, and expression profiles of trihelix transcription factor family genes in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) under abiotic stress conditions dataset January 2022
Additional file 5 of Genome-wide identification, phylogenetic analysis, and expression profiles of trihelix transcription factor family genes in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) under abiotic stress conditions dataset January 2022
Additional file 7 of Genome-wide identification, phylogenetic analysis, and expression profiles of trihelix transcription factor family genes in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) under abiotic stress conditions dataset January 2022
Additional file 8 of Genome-wide identification, phylogenetic analysis, and expression profiles of trihelix transcription factor family genes in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) under abiotic stress conditions dataset January 2022
Additional file 9 of Genome-wide identification, phylogenetic analysis, and expression profiles of trihelix transcription factor family genes in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) under abiotic stress conditions dataset January 2022
Additional file 1 of Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the SPL transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) image January 2022
Additional file 2 of Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the SPL transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) dataset January 2022
Additional file 3 of Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the SPL transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) dataset January 2022
Additional file 4 of Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the SPL transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) dataset January 2022
Additional file 5 of Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the SPL transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) dataset January 2022
Additional file 6 of Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the SPL transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) dataset January 2022
Additional file 7 of Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the SPL transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) dataset January 2022
Additional file 8 of Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the SPL transcription factor family and its response to abiotic stress in Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) dataset January 2022
Additional file 1 of Splicing complexity as a pivotal feature of alternative exons in mammalian species dataset January 2023
Additional file 2 of Splicing complexity as a pivotal feature of alternative exons in mammalian species dataset January 2023
Additional file 1 of Genome-wide identification, comparative analysis and functional roles in flavonoid biosynthesis of cytochrome P450 superfamily in pear (Pyrus spp.) dataset January 2023
Additional file 1 of Genome-wide identification, expression analysis, and functional study of the bZIP transcription factor family and its response to hormone treatments in pea (Pisum sativum L.) dataset January 2023
Additional file 1 of Genome-wide identification and expression pattern analysis of the kiwifruit GRAS transcription factor family in response to salt stress dataset January 2024
Introns and gene expression: Cellular constraints, transcriptional regulation, and evolutionary consequences: Prospects & Overviews journal November 2014
Three Independent Determinants of Protein Evolutionary Rate journal February 2013
Deep intronic mutations and human disease journal May 2017
Alternative Splicing of the Delta-Opioid Receptor Gene Suggests Existence of New Functional Isoforms journal July 2018
Expansion of a bitter taste receptor family in a polyphagous insect herbivore journal April 2016
Export and stability of naturally intronless mRNAs require specific coding region sequences and the TREX mRNA export complex journal October 2011
Genome structure and metabolic features in the red seaweed Chondrus crispus shed light on evolution of the Archaeplastida journal March 2013
Sounds of silence: synonymous nucleotides as a key to biological regulation and complexity journal January 2013
Genome-wide features of introns are evolutionary decoupled among themselves and from genome size throughout Eukarya posted_content March 2018
Antagonistic relationships between intron content and codon usage bias of genes in three mosquito species: functional and evolutionary implications journal July 2013
Why eukaryotic cells use introns to enhance gene expression: Splicing reduces transcription-associated mutagenesis by inhibiting topoisomerase I cutting activity journal January 2011
Phylogenetic and genomic analyses of the ribosomal oxygenases Riox1 (No66) and Riox2 (Mina53) provide new insights into their evolution journal June 2018
Evolution of intron splicing towards optimized gene expression is based on various Cis- and Trans-molecular mechanisms journal August 2019
Enhancement of Transcription by a Splicing-Competent Intron Is Dependent on Promoter Directionality journal May 2016
Genome-wide investigation of superoxide dismutase (SOD) gene family and their regulatory miRNAs reveal the involvement in abiotic stress and hormone response in tea plant (Camellia sinensis) journal October 2019
Molecular Evolution and Functional Diversification of Replication Protein A1 in Plants journal January 2016
Introns: The Functional Benefits of Introns in Genomes journal January 2015