Analysis of genetic interaction networks shows that alternatively spliced genes are highly versatile.

Abstract

Alternative splicing has the potential to increase the diversity of the transcriptome and proteome. Where more than one transcript arises from a gene they are often so different that they are quite unlikely to have the same function. However, it remains unclear if alternative splicing generally leads to a gene being involved in multiple biological processes or whether it alters the function within a single process. Knowing that genetic interactions occur between functionally related genes, we have used them as a proxy for functional versatility, and have analysed the sets of genes of two well-characterised model organisms: Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster. Using network analyses we find that few genes are functionally homogenous (only involved in a few functionally-related biological processes). Moreover, there are differences between alternatively spliced genes and genes with a single transcript; specifically, genes with alternatively splicing are, on average, involved in more biological processes. Finally, we suggest that factors other than specific functional classes determine whether a gene is alternatively spliced.