Check the last preprint from @simonhenriet.bsky.social & colleagues. By studying appendicularians, they revealed the events that permitted non-canonical splicing in these organisms:
. Duplication & divergence of U2AF splicing factors
. Gain & loss of chemical modifications on the spliceosomal RNA
biorxiv.org
Deployment of non-canonical splicing in tunicate genomes is mediated by divergent U2AF function and re-patterning of snRNA m6A modification
In eukaryotes, splicing is a critical step of gene expression that produces transcripts competent for protein synthesis by removing introns from pre-mRNA. The spliceosome defines target splice sites b...