- R E Davis: Department of Biological Sciences, Fordham University, New York Bronx, NY 10458, USA. rdavis@murray.fordham.edu
Spliced leader trans-splicing is a form of RNA processing originally described and studied in parasitic kinetoplastida. This mechanism of gene expression also occurs in parasitic and free-living metazoa. In this review, Dick Davis describes current knowledge of the distribution, substrates, specificity and functional significance of trans-splicing in metazoa.