Translational readthrough (TR) occurs when the ribosome decodes a stop codon as a sense codon, resulting in two protein isoforms synthesized from the same mRNA. TR has been identified in several eukaryotic organisms; however, its biological significance and mechanism remain unclear. Here, we quantify TR of several candidate genes in Drosophila melanogaster and characterize the regulation of TR in the large Maf transcription factor Traffic jam (Tj). Using CRISPR/Cas9-generated mutant flies, we show that the TR-generated Tj isoform is expressed in a subset of neural cells of the central nervous system and is excluded from the somatic cells of gonads. Control of TR in Tj is critical for preservation of neuronal integrity and maintenance of reproductive health. The tissue-specific distribution of a release factor splice variant, eRF1H, plays a critical role in modulating differential TR of leaky stop codon contexts. Fine-tuning of gene regulatory functions of transcription factors by TR provides a potential mechanism for cell-specific regulation of gene expression.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab1189 | DOI Listing |
Nat Struct Mol Biol
January 2025
Laboratory of Regulation of Gene Expression, Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) serve as a dictionary for the ribosome translating the genetic message from mRNA into a polypeptide chain. In addition to this canonical role, tRNAs are involved in other processes such as programmed stop codon readthrough (SC-RT). There, tRNAs with near-cognate anticodons to stop codons must outcompete release factors and incorporate into the ribosomal decoding center to prevent termination and allow translation to continue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA.
One of the hallmarks of RNA viruses is highly structured untranslated regions (UTRs) which are often essential for viral replication, transcription, or translation. In this report, we discovered a series of coumarin derivatives that bind to a four-way RNA helix called SL5 in the 5' UTR of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome. To locate the binding site, we developed a sequencing-based method namely cgSHAPE-seq, in which an acylating probe was directed to crosslink with the 2'-OH group of ribose at the binding site to create read-through mutations during reverse transcription.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
December 2024
Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Segrate (Milan), 20054, Italy.
Mol Biol (Mosk)
December 2024
Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991 Russia.
Eukaryotic translation release factor eRF1 is an important cellular protein that plays a key role in translation termination, nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD), and readthrough of stop codons. The amount of eRF1 in the cell influences all these processes. The mechanism of regulation of eRF1 translation through an autoregulatory NMD-dependent expression circuit has been described for plants and fungi, but the mechanisms of regulation of human eRF1 translation have not yet been studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFEBS Lett
December 2024
Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, The University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Translation terminates at UAG (amber), UGA (opal), and UAA (ochre) stop codons. In nature, readthrough of stop codons can be substantially enhanced by suppressor tRNAs. Stop-codon suppression also provides powerful tools in synthetic biology and disease treatment.
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