Polacek, Norbert (9 July 2013). The ribosome as novel target for small regulatory RNAs (Unpublished). In: Ribosome Conference 2013. Napa Valley, USA. 09.-12.07.2013.
Small non-protein-coding RNA (ncRNA) molecules have been recognized recently as major contributors to regulatory networks in controlling gene expression in a highly efficient manner. While the list of validated ncRNAs that regulate crucial cellular processes grows steadily, 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). All of the recently discovered regulatory ncRNAs that act on translation (e.g. microRNAs, siRNAs or antisense RNAs) target the mRNA rather than the ribosome. This is unexpected, given the central position the ribosome plays during gene expression. Furthermore it is strongly assumed that the primordial translation system in the ‘RNA world’ most likely received direct regulatory input from ncRNA-like cofactors. The fundamental question that we would like to ask is: Does the ‘RNA world still communicate’ with the ribosome?
To address this question, we have analyzed the small ncRNA interactomes of ribosomes of organisms from all three domains of life. Deep-sequencing and subsequent bioinformatic analyses revealed thousands of putative ribosome-associated ncRNAs.1,2 For a subset of these ncRNA candidates we have gathered experimental evidence that they are expressed in a stress-dependent manner and indeed directly target the ribosome. We show that some of these ribosome-bound small ncRNAs are capable of fine tuning protein synthesis in vitro and in vivo. Our data therefore reveal the ribosome as a novel target for small regulatory ncRNAs in all domains of life and suggest the existence of a so far largely unexplored mechanism of translation regulation.
Item Type: |
Conference or Workshop Item (Speech) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences (DCBP) |
UniBE Contributor: |
Polacek, Norbert |
Subjects: |
500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology 500 Science > 540 Chemistry |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Christina Schüpbach |
Date Deposited: |
04 Aug 2014 12:10 |
Last Modified: |
05 Dec 2022 14:36 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/55154 |
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