Pircher, Andreas (3 June 2014). An mRNA-derived ncRNA targets and regulates the ribosome (Unpublished). In: The 19th Annual Meeting of the RNA Society. Quebec, Kanada. 03.06.-08.06.2014.
Small non-protein-coding RNA (ncRNA) molecules are key players in controlling gene expression at multiple steps in all domains of life. While the list of validated ncRNAs that regulate crucial cellular processes grows steadily (such as micro RNAs and small-interfering RNAs), not a single ncRNA has been identified that directly interacts and regulates the ribosome during protein biosynthesis (with the notable exceptions of 7SL RNA and tmRNA).
This is unexpected, given the central position the ribosome plays during gene expression.
To investigate whether such a class of regulatory ncRNAs does exist we performed genomic screens for small ribosome-associated RNAs in various model organisms of all three domains [1,2]. Here we show that an mRNA-derived 18 nucleotide long ncRNA is capable of down-regulating translation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by directly targeting the ribosome [3]. This 18-mer ncRNA binds to polysomes upon salt stress and is crucial for efficient growth under hyperosmotic conditions. Although the 18-mer RNA originates from the TRM10 locus, which encodes a tRNA methyltransferase, genetic analyses revealed the 18-mer RNA nucleotide sequence, rather than the mRNA-encoded enzyme, as the translation regulator under these stress conditions. Our data reveal the ribosome as a target for small regulatory ncRNAs and unveil the existence of a novel mechanism of translation regulation.
Analogous genomic screens in organisms spanning all three domains of life demonstrate the existence of thousands of ncRNA candidates putatively regulating the ribosome. We therefore anticipate that ribosome-bound ncRNAs are capable of fine tuning translation and might represent a so far largely unexplored class of regulatory ncRNAs.
Item Type: |
Conference or Workshop Item (Poster) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences (DCBP) |
UniBE Contributor: |
Pircher, Andreas |
Subjects: |
500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology 500 Science > 540 Chemistry |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Christina Schüpbach |
Date Deposited: |
12 Jan 2015 17:07 |
Last Modified: |
05 Dec 2022 14:39 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/61780 |
Actions (login required)
 |
Edit item |