Question

Figure 15.13 Errors in splicing are implicated in cancers and other human diseases. What kinds of mutations might lead to splicing errors? Think of different possible outcomes if splicing errors occur.

Short answer

Pre-mRNA splicing is associated with the precise removal of introns from the primary RNA transcript. Spliceosomes, which are protein complexes, catalyze the splicing process. Proteins and small nuclear RNA molecules, or snRNAs, make up spliceosomes.

Step-by-step solution

step-1: Definition

In molecular biology, RNA splicing is the process by which a newly synthesized precursor messenger RNA transcript is converted into a mature messenger RNA. It operates by eliminating introns and thereby bringing exons together.

step-2:Introduction

Splicing mistakes caused by mutations are linked to a number of human illnesses. When a mutation occurs at a splice site, the site loses its function. This is due to a premature stop codon being exposed, an intron being included, or an exon being lost.

step-3:Explanation

The spliceosome interferes with splicing. This is due to changes in the spliceosome's recognition sequence at each end of the intron, or in the proteins and RNAs that the spliceosome is formed of. Mutations may also result in the addition of novel spliceosome recognition sites. Splicing errors are caused by the retention of introns in spliced RNA, exon excision, and changes in the splice site position.