Using fission yeast to unravel polyadenylation-dependent gene regulation

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Messenger RNAs (mRNA) are the fundamental molecules responsible for encoding cellular proteins. Because the balance between synthesis and decay determines the steady-state abundance of an mRNA, RNA degradation becomes an integral part of gene regulation. On the mRNA 3' end is a stretch of polyadenosine (A) that normally stimulates gene expression by promoting stability and cytosolic translation. Contrasting this canonical role of mRNA polyadenylation, the 3' end poly(A) tail can also represent a path to RNA destruction. Our research program is centered on understanding mechanisms by which polyadenylation controls mRNA stability in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Accordingly, we have recently discovered a polyadenylation-dependent mRNA degradation system that depends on a protein named, Mmi1, and that selectively degrades meiotic transcripts during the mitotic cell cycle. The objective of this proposal, which is a step in the pursuit of the long-term goal of this research program, is to determine the mechanism by which polyadenylation controls meiotic gene expression in fission yeast. The following specific aims are proposed: