2022 journal article
Variation in upstream open reading frames contributes to allelic diversity in maize protein abundance
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 119(14).
author keywords: uORF; proteome; rare alleles; maize; gene expression
MeSH headings : 5' Untranslated Regions; Open Reading Frames / genetics; Protein Biosynthesis / genetics; RNA, Messenger / genetics; RNA, Messenger / metabolism; Ribosomes / genetics; Ribosomes / metabolism; Zea mays / genetics; Zea mays / metabolism
TL;DR:
It is found that rare variants near the start codon of uORFs can repress or derepress mORF translation, causing allelic changes in protein abundance and providing evidence for the mechanisms by which natural sequence variation modulates gene expression, and ultimately, phenotype.
(via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
3. Good Health and Well-being
(Web of Science)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: July 11, 2022
Significance Proteins are the machinery which execute essential cellular functions. However, measuring their abundance within an organism can be difficult and resource-intensive. Cells use a variety of mechanisms to control protein synthesis from mRNA, including short open reading frames (uORFs) that lie upstream of the main coding sequence. Ribosomes can preferentially translate uORFs instead of the main coding sequence, leading to reduced translation of the main protein. In this study, we show that uORF sequence variation between individuals can lead to different rates of protein translation and thus variable protein abundances. We also demonstrate that natural variation in uORFs occurs frequently and can be linked to whole-plant phenotypes, indicating that uORF sequence variation likely contributes to plant adaptation.