Alternative splicing leads to different forms of the same protein
The intron
/ exon-equivalent structure of the human dystrophin
gene includes 35 exon-equivalents, of which 8 (those in green) are included or
excluded in various combinations to produce an mRNA that
is translated to make a tissue-specific form of the protein.
The huge number of possible combinations means that the
protein can be fine-tuned for tissue-specific functions.
This also provides a basis for the evolution of new gene
functions
Figure © 2012 TA Brown, Introduction
to Genetics (1st ed.); additional
text © 2014 by Steven M. Carr