Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Gene regulation

Breaking the second genetic code

Nature volume 465, pages 45–46 (2010)Cite this article

Subjects

Diverse messenger RNAs, and thus proteins, can be generated from a single piece of DNA. A computational approach is helping to uncover complex combinatorial rules by which specific gene instructions are selected.

At face value, it all sounds simple: DNA makes RNA, which then makes protein. But the reality is much more complex. For instance, depending on what further processing the transcribed messenger RNA sequence undergoes before being translated into a protein, it could code for different proteins. In this issue, Barash et al.1 (page 53) identify the combination of RNA features that determine the sites of mRNA processing — the splicing code.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Predicting pre-mRNA fate.

References

  1. Barash, Y. et al. Nature 465, 53–59 (2010).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Nirenberg, M. Trends Biochem. Sci. 29, 46–54 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Nilsen, T. W. & Graveley, B. R. Nature 463, 457–463 (2010).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Chasin, L. A. Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 623, 85–106 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Chen, M. & Manley, J. L. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 10, 741–754 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Blencowe, B. J., Ahmad, S. & Lee, L. J. Genes Dev. 23, 1379–1386 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Luco, R. F. et al. Science 327, 996–1000 (2010).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Fox-Walsh, K. & Fu, X.-D. Dev. Cell 18, 336–338 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Piqué, M., López, J. M., Foissac, S., Guigó, R. & Méndez, R. Cell 132, 434–448 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. J. Ramón Tejedor and Juan Valcárcel are at the Centre de Regulació Genòmica and Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain. Juan Valcárcel is also at the Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain. juan.valcarcel@crg.es,

    J. Ramón Tejedor & Juan Valcárcel

Authors
  1. J. Ramón Tejedor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Juan Valcárcel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tejedor, J., Valcárcel, J. Breaking the second genetic code. Nature 465, 45–46 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/465045a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/465045a

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing