Why do we have so many different transcripts?

TL;DR

The paper discusses how transcript diversity in large-bodied species like mammals is largely due to random errors rather than functional necessity.

Contribution

It highlights a recent study showing that transcript diversity in mammals arises from accidental processes rather than adaptive evolution.

Findings

Transcript diversity in large-bodied species is attributed to accidental processes.

Alternative transcription and splicing contribute to transcript diversity without clear functional purpose.

Abstract

While it is tempting to suppose that everything that happens inside our cells has
a function, a recent study in PLOS Biology adds to the growing
consensus that, for large-bodied species, the high diversity of transcripts is
down to the fact that accidents happen.

The evolutionary significance of extensive transcript diversity generated by
alternative transcription initiation, splicing and polyadenylation in eukaryotes
remains controversial. This Primer explores a recent study in PLOS Biology
showing that the high diversity of transcripts in mammals is down to the fact
that accidents happen.

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