Effect of gene structure changes on the rate of protein sequence evolution

Abstract

The elaborate architecture of the genes of niulticellular eukaryotes is likely to underpin the unique complexity of eukaryotic gene functions. The structure of eukaryotic genes differs from that of prokaryotes and represents an assemblage of coding exons, iutrons that are spliced out of precursor mRNAs, extended UTRs and complex regulatory regions. It is likely that these features provided a platform for the evolution of the complex traits that typify metazoans including alternative splicing and complex gene regulation.