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Updated: Jul 6, 2026
08:23
De novo Identification of Actively Translated Open Reading Frames with Ribosome Profiling Data
Published on: February 18, 2022
Following translation by single ribosomes one codon at a time
Jin-Der Wen1, Laura Lancaster, Courtney Hodges
1Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Nature
|March 11, 2008
Summary
Ribosome translation involves sequential movement and pausing cycles. mRNA secondary structure influences pause duration, impacting overall translation speed.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Biophysics
- Genetics
Background:
- Understanding the dynamics of protein synthesis is crucial for molecular biology.
- Ribosome function and its regulation are key to gene expression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the step-by-step mechanism of ribosome translation.
- To determine the role of mRNA secondary structure in translation dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Utilized optical tweezers to track individual ribosomes translating single messenger RNA (mRNA) hairpins.
- Analyzed pause durations and translocation times during translation.
Main Results:
- Revealed that translation proceeds via successive translocation-and-pause cycles.
- Identified at least two rate-determining processes within each pause.
- Discovered three substeps within each three-base translocation event.
- Demonstrated that mRNA secondary structure affects pause lengths, not translocation times.
Conclusions:
- Translocation and RNA unwinding are tightly coupled ribosomal functions.
- mRNA secondary structure modulates translation rate by altering pause durations.
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01:31Translation
Lesson: Translation
Translation is the process of synthesizing proteins from the genetic information carried by messenger RNA (mRNA). Following transcription, it constitutes the final step in the expression of genes. This process is carried out by ribosomes, complexes of protein and specialized RNA molecules. Ribosomes, transfer RNA (tRNA), and other proteins produce a chain of amino acids—the polypeptide—as the end product of translation.
Translation Produces the Building Blocks of Life
Translation is the process of synthesizing proteins from the genetic information carried by messenger RNA (mRNA). Following transcription, it constitutes the final step in the expression of genes. This process is carried out by ribosomes, complexes of protein and specialized RNA molecules. Ribosomes, transfer RNA (tRNA), and other proteins produce a chain of amino acids—the polypeptide—as the end product of translation.
Translation Produces the Building Blocks of Life
01:31Translation
Lesson: Translation
Translation is the process of synthesizing proteins from the genetic information carried by messenger RNA (mRNA). Following transcription, it constitutes the final step in the expression of genes. This process is carried out by ribosomes, complexes of protein and specialized RNA molecules. Ribosomes, transfer RNA (tRNA), and other proteins produce a chain of amino acids—the polypeptide—as the end product of translation.
Translation Produces the Building Blocks of Life
Translation is the process of synthesizing proteins from the genetic information carried by messenger RNA (mRNA). Following transcription, it constitutes the final step in the expression of genes. This process is carried out by ribosomes, complexes of protein and specialized RNA molecules. Ribosomes, transfer RNA (tRNA), and other proteins produce a chain of amino acids—the polypeptide—as the end product of translation.
Translation Produces the Building Blocks of Life