Is alternative splicing the same as exon shuffling?
(Ernie’s answer) In the contexts on the texts I read and the examples shown, alternative splicing and exon shuffling are the same thing. This process produces different mRNAs from the same primary transcript, by variations in splicing patterns of the transcript. Different “isoforms” (alternative forms) of mRNA can be produced and if the alternative exons fall within the open reading frames of the isoforms, alternate proteins can be formed. Since exons are suggested to encode protein domains, exon shuffling via recombination can provide a greater diversity of proteins with relatively small amount of transcript and allow a more rapid evolution of proteins. References: Griffiths, A. et al. An Introduction to Genetic Analysis. 6th ed. New York, 1996. Lehninger, A., Nelson, D., Cox, M. Principles of Biochemistry. 2nd ed. New York, 1993. Correction posted by Ernie: Originally, I had found that these processes were the same but later found out that I was wrong. The two processes are similar a
