Trade-offs between tRNA abundance and mRNA secondary structure support smoothing of translation elongation rate.

ABSTRACT: Translation of protein from mRNA is a complex multi-step process that occurs at a non-uniform rate. Variability in ribosome speed along an mRNA enables refinement of the proteome and plays a critical role in protein biogenesis. Detailed single protein studies have found both tRNA abundance and mRNA secondary structure as key modulators of translation elongation rate, but recent genome-wide ribosome profiling experiments have not observed significant influence of either on translation efficiency. Here we provide evidence that this results from an inherent trade-off between these factors. We find codons pairing to high-abundance tRNAs are preferentially used in regions of high secondary structure content, while codons read by significantly less abundant tRNAs are located in lowly structured

SUBMITTER: Gorochowski TE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4381083 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature