Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 12, 2026

Metabolic Labeling of Newly Transcribed RNA for High Resolution Gene Expression Profiling of RNA Synthesis, Processing and Decay in Cell Culture
Published on: August 8, 2013
Coupled evolution of transcription and mRNA degradation
Mally Dori-Bachash1, Efrat Shema, Itay Tirosh
1Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Abstract:
mRNA levels are determined by the balance between transcription and mRNA degradation, and while transcription has been extensively studied, very little is known regarding the regulation of mRNA degradation and its coordination with transcription. Here we examine the evolution of mRNA degradation rates between two closely related yeast species. Surprisingly, we find that around half of the evolutionary changes in mRNA degradation were coupled to transcriptional changes that exert opposite effects on mRNA levels. Analysis of mRNA degradation rates in an interspecific hybrid further suggests that opposite evolutionary changes in transcription and in mRNA degradation are mechanistically coupled and were generated by the same individual mutations. Coupled changes are associated with divergence of two complexes that were previously implicated both in transcription and in mRNA degradation (Rpb4/7 and Ccr4-Not), as well as with sequence divergence of transcription factor binding motifs. These results suggest that an opposite coupling between the regulation of transcription and that of mRNA degradation has shaped the evolution of gene regulation in yeast.
More Related Videos
07:03Determining Genome-wide Transcript Decay Rates in Proliferating and Quiescent Human Fibroblasts
Published on: January 2, 2018
09:21Saccharomyces cerevisiae Metabolic Labeling with 4-thiouracil and the Quantification of Newly Synthesized mRNA As a Proxy for RNA Polymerase II Activity
Published on: October 22, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Chromatin Structure Regulates pre-mRNA Processing
The chromatin structure, especially...
Nuclear Export of mRNA
mRNA Stability and Gene Expression
Cis-acting Elements involved in mRNA stability
Nuclear Export of mRNA
mRNA Stability and Gene Expression
Cis-acting Elements involved in mRNA stability
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps