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Translational Regulation

Translational Regulation

Translational regulation in prokaryotes ensures efficient protein synthesis by controlling ribosome access to mRNA. This regulation is mediated by secondary RNA structures, including translational riboswitches, RNA thermometers, and small RNAs (sRNAs), which respond to intracellular and environmental signals to modulate gene expression.Translational RiboswitchesRiboswitches in the leader region of mRNAs can regulate translation by altering the accessibility of the Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence,...

Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps

Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps

Gene expression can be regulated at almost every step from gene to protein. Transcription is the step that is most commonly regulated. This involves the binding of proteins to short regulatory sequences on the DNA. This association can either promote or inhibit the transcription of a gene associated with the respective sequence.
Transcription results in the generation of precursor (pre-mRNA) that consists of both exons and introns, which needs further processing before being translated to a...

Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps

Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps

Gene expression can be regulated at almost every step from gene to protein. Transcription is the step that is most commonly regulated. This involves the binding of proteins to short regulatory sequences on the DNA. This association can either promote or inhibit the transcription of a gene associated with the respective sequence.
Transcription results in the generation of precursor (pre-mRNA) that consists of both exons and introns, which needs further processing before being translated to a...

Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps

Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps

The gene expression in cells is regulated at different stages: (i) transcription, (ii) RNA processing, (iii) RNA localization, and (iv) translation. Transcriptional regulation is mediated by regulatory proteins such as transcription factors, activators, or repressors—these control gene expression by initiating or inhibiting the transcription of genes. Once a precursor or pre-mRNA is produced, it undergoes post-transcriptional modification, including 5' capping, splicing, and the addition of a...

Leaky Scanning

Leaky Scanning

During most eukaryotic translation processes, the small 40S ribosome subunit scans an mRNA from its 5' end until it encounters the first start AUG codon. The large 60S ribosomal subunit then joins the smaller one to initiate protein synthesis. The location of the translation initiation is largely determined by the nucleotides near the start codon as there may be multiple translation initiation sites present on the mRNA. Marilyn Kozak discovered that the sequence RCCAUGG (where R stands for...

Initiation of Translation

Initiation of Translation

Initiating translation is complex because it involves multiple molecules. Initiator tRNA, ribosomal subunits, and eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) are all required to assemble on the initiation codon of mRNA. This process consists of several steps that are mediated by different eIFs.
First, the initiator tRNA must be selected from the pool of elongator tRNAs by eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2). The initiator tRNA (Met-tRNAi) has conserved sequence elements including modified bases at...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Toeprinting Analysis of Translation Initiation Complex Formation on Mammalian mRNAs

Toeprinting Analysis of Translation Initiation Complex Formation on Mammalian mRNAs

Published on: May 10, 2018

Translational control via protein-regulated upstream open reading frames.

Jan Medenbach¹, Markus Seiler, Matthias W Hentze

¹European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.

|June 14, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Sex lethal (SXL) protein regulates translation via upstream open reading frames (uORFs) in mRNA. SXL binding near uORFs inhibits protein synthesis by controlling translation initiation.

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Area of Science:

Molecular Biology
Genetics
Developmental Biology

Background:

Dosage compensation in Drosophila is crucial for sexual development.
The Sex lethal (SXL) protein plays a key role in this process.
Translational control mechanisms are vital for gene expression regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the mechanism by which SXL regulates msl-2 mRNA translation.
To identify common regulatory elements involved in translational control.
To explore the broader applicability of this regulatory mechanism.

Main Methods:

Analysis of mRNA sequences and 5' untranslated regions (UTRs).
Studying the interaction between SXL and RNA-binding proteins.
Investigating ribosome scanning and translation initiation at upstream open reading frames (uORFs).
Experimental validation in heterologous systems.

Main Results:

SXL binding downstream of a short uORF strongly inhibits translation of the main reading frame.
This inhibition is achieved by increasing ribosome initiation at the uORF and hindering downstream translation.
SXL's regulatory effect specifically targets translation initiation, not elongation or termination.
The identified regulatory module functions in a different biological context and is present in other Drosophila mRNAs.

Conclusions:

Protein-regulated uORFs represent a systematic mechanism for controlling protein synthesis.
This mode of translational control, involving SXL and uORFs, is a significant finding in gene regulation.
The discovered regulatory module has implications for understanding gene expression across different systems.