Post-transcriptional control
Genes that encode various RNAs are transcribed in the nucleus (although some are transcribed in mitochondria) by RNA polymerase I, II or III, but the primary transcripts are virtually never the mature, active species. These precursor RNAs must therefore undergo post-transcriptional processing; for pre-mRNAs this involves 5' capping, 3' polyadenylation, pre-mRNA splicing and in some cases RNA editing. The concentration of mature mRNA in the cytoplasm — which in turn depends on mRNA transport and RNA quality-control, storage and degradation mechanisms — determines the rate of translation.
Post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression is much more intricate than previously thought, and elucidating the basic mechanisms of post-transcriptional control will be essential to gain a full understanding of how gene expression is regulated at different levels, of the interplay between these mechanisms, and of the extensive involvement of post-transcriptional dysfunction in numerous genetic disorders and cancer. Although we will focus in this Article Series mostly on post-transcriptional events involving mRNA, non-coding RNA-mediated post-transcriptional control will also be discussed.
2010
July 2010 Vol 11 No 7
All things must pass: contrasts and commonalities in eukaryotic and bacterial mRNA decay
Joel G. Belasco
May 2010 Vol 11 No 5
Role of GW182 proteins and PABPC1 in the miRNA pathway: a sense of déjá vu
Felix Tritschler, Eric Huntzinger & Elisa Izaurralde
February 2010 Vol 11 No 2
The mechanism of eukaryotic translation initiation and principles of its regulation
Richard J. Jackson, Christopher U. T. Hellen & Tatyana V. Pestova
2009
November 2009 Vol 10 No 11
Mechanisms of alternative splicing regulation: insights from molecular and genomics approaches
Mo Chen & James L. Manley
June 2009 Vol 10 No 6
RNA granules: post-transcriptional and epigenetic modulators of gene expression
Paul Anderson & Nancy Kedersha
February 2009 Vol 10 No 2
Biogenesis of small RNAs in animals
V. Narry Kim, Jinju Han & Mikiko C. Siomi
February 2009 Vol 10 No 2
Revisiting the principles of microRNA target recognition and mode of action
Peter Brodersen & Olivier Voinnet
2008
December 2008 Vol 9 No 12
Translational control of localized mRNAs: restricting protein synthesis in space and time
Florence Besse & Anne Ephrussi
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The highways and byways of mRNA decay
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Early nonsense: mRNA decay solves a translational problem
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