[Ribosomal profiling as a tool for studying translation in plants: main results, problems and future prospects].

Area of Science:

• Molecular Biology
• Genetics
• Plant Science

Context:

• Gene expression is regulated at multiple stages, including mRNA translation.
• mRNA structure significantly impacts translation efficiency and initiation site selection.
• Ribosome profiling (RP, Ribo-seq) is a key experimental method for studying the translated transcriptome.

Purpose:

• To review the methodology of ribosome profiling (RP, Ribo-seq) in plant systems.
• To explore the application of RP in understanding plant gene expression regulation.
• To identify structural features of mRNA that influence translation levels.

Summary:

• Ribosome profiling isolates polysomal mRNA fragments associated with ribosomes for high-performance sequencing.
• RP enables quantitative evaluation of translation efficiency and detection of alternative translation events, including frame switching.
• This technique has identified plant genes based on transcriptional and translational regulation and revealed mRNA structural elements affecting translation, such as G-quadruplexes, 5'-UTR motifs, GC content, alternative start sites, and upstream open reading frames (uORFs).

Impact:

• Provides quantitative insights into ribosome occupancy and translation dynamics.
• Facilitates the classification of plant genes by expression regulation mechanisms.
• Advances the understanding of mRNA structural elements governing translation and gene expression in plants.