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RNA FOLDING

Does RNA secondary structure drive translation or vice versa?

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 25, pages 641–643 (2018)Cite this article

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The effects of RNA secondary structure on translation have been well recognized; however, the global interplay between both in a dynamic cellular system is poorly understood. Beaudoin, Giraldez and colleagues have analyzed RNA structure dynamics during zebrafish embryonic development and have found that the ribosome unzips mRNA secondary structure during translation, thus leading to a global decrease of structure in highly translated transcripts. Furthermore, the authors establish RNA structure in the 3′ untranslated regions of mRNAs as a major regulator of transcript stability in this context.

Organisms use many regulatory post-transcriptional processes to ensure RNA function, including the formation of secondary RNA structure, which is essential for functionality. RNA structure has been well described for several classes of noncoding RNAs1,2,3, but it is also important in mRNA regulation. Indeed, the recent advent of transcriptome-wide techniques to globally profile RNA secondary structure has elucidated its effects on nearly every step in eukaryotic post-transcriptional regulation4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11.

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Fig. 1: Translation drives changes in RNA secondary structure during the maternal-to-zygotic transition in zebrafish.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Marianne C. Kramer & Brian D. Gregory

  2. Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Marianne C. Kramer & Brian D. Gregory

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  1. Marianne C. Kramer
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  2. Brian D. Gregory
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Correspondence to Brian D. Gregory.

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Kramer, M.C., Gregory, B.D. Does RNA secondary structure drive translation or vice versa?. Nat Struct Mol Biol 25, 641–643 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-018-0100-2

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