The completion of the human genome project demonstrated that the human genome codes for approximately 25,000 genes. However, these limited numbers of genes actually encode several hundreds of thousands of different proteins. Which of the following processes provides the majority of the additional diversity of the protein products from these genes?
A) DNA transposition
B) mRNA splicing
C) mutagenesis
D) rRNA processing
E) tRNA modification

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

mRNA splicing, particularly alternative splicing, allows a single gene to produce multiple protein variants by including or excluding certain exons during the processing of the pre-mRNA.  The precise splicing outcome of a transcribed gene is controlled by complex interactions between cis-regulatory splicing signals and trans-acting regulators. Alternative splicing is a prevalent mechanism for generating transcriptome and proteome diversity. It can modulate gene function, affect organismal phenotype, and cause disease.

The Completion of the Human Genome Project Demonstrated That the Human