2017 journal article

Translation regulation in plants: an interesting past, an exciting present and a promising future

PLANT JOURNAL, 90(4), 628–653.

co-author countries: Spain 🇪🇸 United States of America 🇺🇸
author keywords: translation; upstream open reading frames; internal ribosomal entry sites; gene-specific translation; global regulation of translation; RNA-binding protein
MeSH headings : Gene Expression Regulation / genetics; Gene Expression Regulation / physiology; Open Reading Frames / genetics; Plants / genetics; Plants / metabolism; Protein Biosynthesis / genetics; Protein Biosynthesis / physiology; RNA, Plant / genetics; RNA, Plant / metabolism; Ribosomes / genetics; Ribosomes / metabolism
Source: Web Of Science
Added: August 6, 2018

Summary Changes in gene expression are at the core of most biological processes, from cell differentiation to organ development, including the adaptation of the whole organism to the ever‐changing environment. Although the central role of transcriptional regulation is solidly established and the general mechanisms involved in this type of regulation are relatively well understood, it is clear that regulation at a translational level also plays an essential role in modulating gene expression. Despite the large number of examples illustrating the critical role played by translational regulation in determining the expression levels of a gene, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind such types of regulation has been slow to emerge. With the recent development of high‐throughput approaches to map and quantify different critical parameters affecting translation, such as RNA structure, protein–RNA interactions and ribosome occupancy at the genome level, a renewed enthusiasm toward studying translation regulation is warranted. The use of these new powerful technologies in well‐established and uncharacterized translation‐dependent processes holds the promise to decipher the likely complex and diverse, but also fascinating, mechanisms behind the regulation of translation.