In:
eLife, eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd, Vol. 5 ( 2016-05-20)
Abstract:
Within a cell, molecules of messenger RNA (mRNA) encode the proteins that the cell needs to survive and thrive. The amount of mRNA within a cell therefore plays an important role in determining both the amount and types of proteins that a cell contains and, thus, the behavior of the cell. In eukaryotic organisms, like humans, it has been established that it is not just the amount of mRNA that influences cell behavior, but also where the mRNA molecules are found within the cell. However, in bacteria, which are much smaller than human cells, it has long been believed that the location of an mRNA within the cell does not affect its behavior. Despite this, recent studies that have looked at small numbers of bacterial mRNAs have shown that some of these molecules are found in larger numbers than usual at certain sites inside cells. This suggests that location may actually affect the activity of some bacterial mRNAs. But do similar localization patterns occur for all of the thousands of different mRNAs that bacteria can make? To address this question, Moffitt et al. developed an approach that allows large, defined sets of mRNAs to be imaged in bacteria. Using this approach to study E. coli revealed that a considerable fraction of all the mRNAs that these bacteria can make locate themselves at specific sites within a cell. For example, mRNAs that encode proteins that reside inside the cell’s inner membrane are found enriched at this membrane. This localization also plays an important role in the life of these mRNAs, as they are degraded more quickly than those found elsewhere in the cell. This enhanced degradation rate arises partly because the enzymes that break down mRNA molecules are also found at the membrane. Thus, bacteria can shape the process by which an mRNA is made into protein by controlling where in a cell the mRNA is located. The next steps are to understand why bacteria use cell location to influence the rate of mRNA degradation.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2050-084X
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.001
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.002
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.003
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.004
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.005
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.006
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.007
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.008
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.009
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.010
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.011
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.012
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.013
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.014
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.015
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.016
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.017
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.018
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.019
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.020
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.021
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.022
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.023
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.024
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.025
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.028
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.13065.029
Language:
English
Publisher:
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Publication Date:
2016
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2687154-3
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