Pat1 promotes processing body assembly by enhancing the phase separation of the DEAD-box ATPase Dhh1 and RNA.

Processing bodies (PBs) are cytoplasmic mRNP granules that assemble via liquid-liquid phase separation and are implicated in the decay or storage of mRNAs. How PB assembly is regulated in cells remains unclear. Previously, we identified the ATPase activity of the DEAD-box protein Dhh1 as a key regulator of PB dynamics and demonstrated that Not1, an activator of the Dhh1 ATPase and member of the CCR4-NOT deadenylase complex inhibits PB assembly (Mugler et al.

Small and Large Ribosomal Subunit Deficiencies Lead to Distinct Gene Expression Signatures that Reflect Cellular Growth Rate.

Levels of the ribosome, the conserved molecular machine that mediates translation, are tightly linked to cellular growth rate. In humans, ribosomopathies are diseases associated with cell-type-specific pathologies and reduced ribosomal protein (RP) levels. Because gene expression defects resulting from ribosome deficiency have not yet been experimentally defined, we systematically probed mRNA, translation, and protein signatures that were either unlinked from or linked to cellular growth rate in RP-deficient yeast cells.

Non-invasive measurement of mRNA decay reveals translation initiation as the major determinant of mRNA stability.

The cytoplasmic abundance of mRNAs is strictly controlled through a balance of production and degradation. Whereas the control of mRNA synthesis through transcription has been well characterized, less is known about the regulation of mRNA turnover, and a consensus model explaining the wide variations in mRNA decay rates remains elusive. Here, we combine non-invasive transcriptome-wide mRNA production and stability measurements with selective and acute perturbations to demonstrate that mRNA degradation is tightly coupled to the regulation of translation, and that a competition between translation initiation and mRNA decay -but not codon optimality or elongation- is the major determinant of mRNA stability in yeast.

Natively Unfolded FG Repeats Stabilize the Structure of the Nuclear Pore Complex.

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are ∼100 MDa transport channels assembled from multiple copies of ∼30 nucleoporins (Nups). One-third of these Nups contain phenylalanine-glycine (FG)-rich repeats, forming a diffusion barrier, which is selectively permeable for nuclear transport receptors that interact with these repeats. Here, we identify an additional function of FG repeats in the structure and biogenesis of the yeast NPC.

ATPase activity of the DEAD-box protein Dhh1 controls processing body formation.

Translational repression and mRNA degradation are critical mechanisms of posttranscriptional gene regulation that help cells respond to internal and external cues. In response to certain stress conditions, many mRNA decay factors are enriched in processing bodies (PBs), cellular structures involved in degradation and/or storage of mRNAs. Yet, how cells regulate assembly and disassembly of PBs remains poorly understood.