Title: Factors andmechanisms in mRNA localization and translation
Abstract:
The expression ofgenes into a functional unit is regulated at multiple steps, from the initial RNAtranscription, through its processing, intracellular localization, and finally proteintranslation and degradation. In my talk I will focus on two of these steps thatmy lab had been working on for several years: mRNA localization and translation.First, I will describe work that we did on deciphering the factors that areinvolved in localization of mRNA to the proximity of mitochondria and thefunctional consequences of this localization. Through extensive work in yeastwe identified several protein factors that coordinate localization and most recentlyuncovered an unexpected role for localization in transport of mRNA alongneuronal axons. In the second part of my talk, I will focus on RNA binding factorsthat regulate mRNA translation. We recently discovered that a well-studiedfamily of tRNA binding proteins can also bind mRNA. mRNA binding occurs atelement that mimic the cognate tRNA binding sites and allows regulation oftarget mRNA translation. Thus, binding two types of RNA (i.e. tRNA and mRNA) bythe same RNA binding protein allows coordination between tRNA charging and mRNAtranslation, and may have significant implications to cellular physiology inhealth and disease.
Host: Sagi Levy
