Pan troglodytes Transcriptome, PFC, DS2

Changes in splicing are known to affect genes’ function and regulation. We analyzed changes in splicing during postnatal development of the prefrontal cortex in humans, chimpanzees, and rhesus macaques based on data from 168 individuals. We show that among the 38,822 quantified alternative exons 15% were differentially spliced among the three species and more than 6% changed splicing with age. Mutations in splicing acceptor and/or donor sites (cis- regulators) explain up to 64% of the species’ high-amplitude differences and more than 14% of all differences. Reconstructed trans- regulatory network containing 21 RNA-binding proteins explained further 4% of splicing variation within species. While most of age-dependent splicing patterns are conserved among the three species, developmental changes in intron retention are substantially more pronounced in humans.