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Updated: Dec 31, 2025

Defining the Program of Maternal mRNA Translation during In vitro Maturation using a Single Oocyte Reporter Assay
Published on: June 16, 2021
Genome-wide analysis identifies cis-acting elements regulating mRNA polyadenylation and translation during vertebrate
Fei Yang1,2, Wei Wang1,2, Murat Cetinbas1,2
1Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
Abstract:
Most cells change patterns of gene expression through transcriptional regulation. In contrast, oocytes are transcriptionally silent and regulate mRNA poly(A) tail length to control protein production. However, the genome-wide relationship of poly(A) tail changes to mRNA translation during vertebrate oocyte maturation is not known. We used Tail-seq and polyribosome analysis to measure poly(A) tail and translational changes during oocyte maturation in Xenopus laevis We identified large-scale poly(A) and translational changes during oocyte maturation, with poly(A) tail length changes preceding translational changes. Proteins important for completion of the meiotic divisions and early development exhibited increased polyadenylation and translation during oocyte maturation. A family of U-rich sequence elements was enriched near the polyadenylation signal of polyadenylated and translationally activated mRNAs. We propose that changes in mRNA polyadenylation are a conserved mechanism regulating protein expression during vertebrate oocyte maturation and that these changes are controlled by a spatial code of cis-acting sequence elements.
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