The stability of an mRNA is influenced by its concentration: a potential physical mechanism to regulate gene expression.

ABSTRACT: Changing mRNA stability is a major post-transcriptional way of controlling gene expression, particularly in newly encountered conditions. As the concentration of mRNA is the result of an equilibrium between transcription and degradation, it is generally assumed that at constant transcription, any change in mRNA concentration is the consequence of mRNA stabilization or destabilization. However, the literature reports many cases of opposite variations in mRNA concentration and stability in bacteria. Here, we analyzed the causal link between the concentration and stability of mRNA in two phylogenetically distant bacteria Escherichia coli and Lactococcus lactis. Using reporter mRNAs, we showed that modifying the stability of an mRNA had unpredictable effects, either higher or lower, on its con

SUBMITTER: Nouaille S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5714132 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature