Allele-specific expression and alternative splicing in horse×donkey and cattle×yak hybrids.

Divergence of gene expression and alternative splicing is a crucial driving force in the evolution of species; to date, however the molecular mechanism remains unclear. Hybrids of closely related species provide a suitable model to analyze allele-specific expression (ASE) and allele-specific alternative splicing (ASS). Analysis of ASE and ASS can uncover the differences in -regulatory elements between closely related species, while eliminating interference of regulatory elements.