Bursting translation on single mRNAs in live cells.

ABSTRACT: Stochasticity has emerged as a mechanism of gene regulation. Much of this so-called "noise" has been attributed to bursting transcription. Although bursting transcription has been studied extensively, the role of stochasticity in translation has not been fully investigated due to the lack of enabling imaging technology. In this study, we developed techniques to track single mRNAs and their translation in live cells for hours, allowing the measurement of previously uncharacterized translation dynamics. We applied genetic and pharmacological perturbations to control translation kinetics and found that, like transcription, translation is not a constitutive process but instead cycles between inactive and active states, or "bursts." However, unlike transcription, which is largely frequency-modu

SUBMITTER: Livingston NM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10330622 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature