Codon optimality controls differential mRNA translation during amino acid starvation.

ABSTRACT: It is common wisdom that codon usage bias has evolved in the selection for efficient translation, in which highly expressed genes are encoded predominantly by optimal codons. However, a growing body of evidence suggests regulatory roles for non-optimal codons in translation dynamics. Here we report that in mammalian cells, non-optimal codons play a critical role in promoting selective mRNA translation during amino acid starvation. During starvation, in contrast to genes encoding ribosomal proteins whose translation is highly sensitive to amino acid deprivation, translation of genes involved in the cellular protein degradation pathways remains unaffected. We found that these two gene groups bear different codon composition, with non-optimal codons being highly enriched in genes encoding the

SUBMITTER: Saikia M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5066624 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature