EMATS - A new way to regulate gene expression

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"Given this order of operations, it makes sense that transcription affects splicing. After all, splicing cannot occur without an RNA transcript. But the inverse theory — that splicing can affect transcription — is now gaining traction. In a recent study, the Burge lab showed that splicing in an exon near the beginning of a gene impacts transcription and increases gene expression ... the splicing of one transcript from a gene influences the transcription of subsequent transcripts from the same gene.""

"Based on evolutionary data available and her experiments at the lab bench, she could see that wherever there was a new exon, there was usually a new promoter nearby. When the exon was spliced in, the new promoter became more active.
The researchers named this phenomenon “exon-mediated activation of transcription starts” (EMATS). They propose a model in which the splicing machinery associated with the new exon recruits transcription machinery to the vicinity, activating transcription from nearby promoters. This process, the researchers predict, likely helps to regulate thousands of mammalian genes across species. ... EMATS has increased genome complexity over the course of evolution, and may have contributed to species-specific differences."


A new way to regulate gene expression | MIT News: A few years ago, researchers in MIT's Burge lab noticed that whenever a new nucleotide sequence appeared in the RNA of one lineage, there was an increase in the total amount of RNA produced. A new explanation redefines our understanding of how genes are expressed.