Question

Approximately what percent of all human genes are expressed as alternatively spliced mRNAs?

a. 2
b. 25
c. 50
d. 90

Answer 1

Approximately 90% of human genes are expressed as alternatively spliced mRNAs, contributing to protein diversity and allowing for different gene isoforms to be produced.

Step-by-step explanation:

Approximately 90% of all human genes are expressed as alternatively spliced mRNAs. Alternative splicing is a process that allows a single gene to produce multiple proteins by combining different combinations of exons to form the mRNA. This process increases protein diversity without increasing the genome size and allows different gene isoforms to be expressed in different tissues or during different stages of development. Insights from research indicate that this mechanism of gene regulation is quite common; in humans, it has been estimated that 70% to 95% of multi-exon genes undergo alternative splicing.