Bioinformatics analysis of alternative splice variants

Abstract

The phenomenon of alternative splicing has in recent years been transformed from one where it is thought to occur fortuitously to one where it is known to be tightly controlled and essential to the functional of the cell. Advances in sequencing technologies and bioinformatics tools have enabled the generation and annotation of a large amount of genomic and transcriptional sequence information that could be used as a basis for the study of alternative splicing. The aim of this thesis seeks to use this information to study the characteristics and effects of alternative splicing in a well-studied organism such as Drosophila melanogaster.