Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona reveal that Srrm3 is a master regulator gene crucial for the development of photoreceptors, cells in the back of the retina which capture and process light, sending signals to the brain that enable vision.
Alternative splicing is a fundamental biological process that allows cells to make many different types of mRNAs and proteins from a limited number of genes. For many animals, including humans, it is a feature that is essential for the development of complex cells such as muscles or neurons.