In the first study of differential gene expression between experimentally infected and uninfected house finches [23], one of the most highly up-regulated genes as a result of infection was an alternative splicing factor, now called SREK1 (splicing regulatory glutamine/lysine-rich protein 1, chicken ortholog: ENSGALG00000014775), whose function is to regulate alternative splicing. This evidence concerns the gene SREK1 and infection.