Comparative Component Analysis of Exons with Different Splicing Frequencies

Transcriptional isoforms are not just random combinations of exons. What has caused exons to be differentially spliced and whether exons with different splicing frequencies are subjected to divergent regulation by potential elements or splicing signals? Beyond the conventional classification for alternatively spliced exons (ASEs) and constitutively spliced exons (CSEs), we have classified exons from alternatively spliced human genes and their mouse orthologs (12,314 and 5,464, respectively) into four types based on their splicing frequencies. Analysis has indicated that different groups of exons presented divergent compositional and regulatory properties. Interestingly, with the decrease of splicing frequency, exons tend to have greater lengths, higher GC content, and contain more splicing elements and repetitive elements, which seem to imply that the splicing frequency is influenced by such factors. Comparison of non-alternatively spliced (NAS) mouse genes with alternatively spliced human orthologs also suggested that exons with lower splicing frequencies may be newly evolved ones which gained functions with splicing frequencies altered through the evolution. Our findings have revealed for the first time that certain factors may have critical influence on the splicing frequency, suggesting that exons with lower splicing frequencies may originate from old repetitive sequences, with splicing sites altered by mutation, gaining novel functions and become more frequently spliced.