Regulation of Splicing by Protein Phosphorylation

Most eukaryotic messenger RNAs are transcribed as precursors that necessitate specific and exact processing of intron boundaries. Furthermore, the choice of these boundaries appears to be fluid and adaptive to the rate of transcription and the developmental and physiological state of the cell. A central regulator of splicing reactions and choice are kinases that work through phosphorylation of specific factors like RNA polymerase II, which influences the pace of transcription and of SR splicing factors. While very different in their mechanisms both regulatory pathways will impact on splicing site choice. This chapter summarizes the biology of splicing-related phosphorylation activity, emphasizing plant-specific aspects in relation to the metazoan counterpart. R. Fluhr Plant Sciences , Weizmann Institute of Science , 76100 , Rehovot , Israel e-mail: robert.fluhr@weizmann.ac.il