What process involves splicing of exons to produce variants of a protein from a single gene?

The process of splicing exons to produce different variants of a protein from a single gene is known as alternative splicing. This mechanism allows a single gene to code for multiple proteins by including or excluding certain segments of RNA during the transcription process.

During transcription, the initial RNA product includes both introns (non-coding regions) and exons (coding regions). After transcription, the pre-mRNA undergoes processing, which includes splicing. In alternative splicing, different combinations of exons are joined together, allowing for various mRNA transcripts to be created from the same DNA sequence. This versatility plays a crucial role in the diversity of proteins that can be generated within an organism, significantly impacting cellular function and adaptability.

The other processes mentioned, while related to protein production and gene expression, do not specifically refer to the selective splicing of exons. Transcription focuses on the synthesis of RNA from DNA, translation is the process through which mRNA is decoded to produce proteins, and gene expression encompasses all aspects of how genes are turned into functional products, including transcription and translation, but does not specifically denote the splicing mechanism itself.