Editing efficiency of a Drosophila gene correlates with a distant splice site selection

RNA editing and alternative splicing are two processes that increase protein diversity. The relationship between the two processes is not well understood. There are a few examples of correlations between editing and alternative splicing, but these are all nearby effects. A search for alternative splicing among 16 edited genes in Drosophila reveals two novel instances of alternative splicing. In one example where alternative splicing occurs downstream of editing, a strong correlation between editing efficiency and splice site selection is observed. In contrast, when editing occurs downstream of alternative splicing, no correlation is seen. These results suggest some models for the coupling of editing and splicing processes.