Post-transcriptional control of gene expression: a genome-wide perspective

Gene expression is regulated at multiple levels, and cells need to integrate and coordinate different layers of control to implement the information in the genome. Post-transcriptional levels of regulation such as transcript turnover and translational control are an integral part of gene expression and might rival the sophistication and importance of transcriptional control. Microarray-based methods are increasingly used to study not only transcription but also global patterns of transcript decay and translation rates in addition to comprehensively identify targets of RNA-binding proteins. Such large-scale analyses have recently provided supplementary and unique insights into gene expression programs. Integration of several different datasets will ultimately lead to a system-wide understanding of the varied and complex mechanisms for gene expression control.