Alternative splicing in plants: directing traffic at the crossroads of adaptation and environmental stress

• Published in: Current opinion in plant biology 2015-04, Vol.24, p.125-135
• Main Authors: Filichkin, Sergei, Priest, Henry D, Megraw, Molly, Mockler, Todd C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Biological; Alternative Splicing; Circadian Clocks; Plant Physiological Phenomena; RNA, Plant - genetics; RNA, Plant - metabolism; Stress, Physiological
• ISSN: 1369-5266; 1879-0356
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2015.02.008

•Alternative splicing results in multiple mRNA isoforms from a single gene.•Cell type, development, and the environment, modulate splice site selection.•Nonsense mediated decay ensures message fidelity of alternative RNA isoforms.•Alternative splicing regulates both long non-coding RNAs and primary micro-RNAs.•Alternative splicing regulates the plant circadian clock and stress response. In recent years, high-throughput sequencing-based analysis of plant transcriptomes has suggested that up to ∼60% of plant gene loci encode alternatively spliced mature transcripts. These studies have also revealed that alternative splicing in plants can be regulated by cell type, developmental stage, the environment, and the circadian clock. Alternative splicing is coupled to RNA surveillance and processing mechanisms, including nonsense mediated decay. Recently, non-protein-coding transcripts have also been shown to undergo alternative splicing. These discoveries collectively describe a robust system of post-transcriptional regulatory feedback loops which influence RNA abundance. In this review, we summarize recent studies describing the specific roles alternative splicing and RNA surveillance play in plant adaptation to environmental stresses and the regulation of the circadian clock.