Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 3, 2026

Polysome Fractionation and Analysis of Mammalian Translatomes on a Genome-wide Scale
Published on: May 17, 2014
Cell-fate determination by ubiquitin-dependent regulation of translation
Achim Werner1,2, Shintaro Iwasaki2, Colleen A McGourty2
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Abstract:
Metazoan development depends on the accurate execution of differentiation programs that allow pluripotent stem cells to adopt specific fates. Differentiation requires changes to chromatin architecture and transcriptional networks, yet whether other regulatory events support cell-fate determination is less well understood. Here we identify the ubiquitin ligase CUL3 in complex with its vertebrate-specific substrate adaptor KBTBD8 (CUL3(KBTBD8)) as an essential regulator of human and Xenopus tropicalis neural crest specification. CUL3(KBTBD8) monoubiquitylates NOLC1 and its paralogue TCOF1, the mutation of which underlies the neurocristopathy Treacher Collins syndrome. Ubiquitylation drives formation of a TCOF1-NOLC1 platform that connects RNA polymerase I with ribosome modification enzymes and remodels the translational program of differentiating cells in favour of neural crest specification. We conclude that ubiquitin-dependent regulation of translation is an important feature of cell-fate determination.
Related Concept Videos
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps
Regulated Protein Degradation
Protein degradation plays two important roles in the cells. It helps to protect cells from misfolded or damaged proteins before they lead to a...
Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps
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...
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...
Translation
Translation Produces the Building Blocks of Life
Proteins are...
Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting

