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Updated: Jul 31, 2025

Polysome Fractionation and Analysis of Mammalian Translatomes on a Genome-wide Scale
Published on: May 17, 2014
A vast evolutionarily transient translatome contributes to phenotype and fitness
Aaron Wacholder1, Saurin Bipin Parikh2, Nelson Castilho Coelho1
1Department of Computational and Systems Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Pittsburgh Center for Evolutionary Biology and Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Abstract:
Translation is the process by which ribosomes synthesize proteins. Ribosome profiling recently revealed that many short sequences previously thought to be noncoding are pervasively translated. To identify protein-coding genes in this noncanonical translatome, we combine an integrative framework for extremely sensitive ribosome profiling analysis, iRibo, with high-powered selection inferences tailored for short sequences. We construct a reference translatome for Saccharomyces cerevisiae comprising 5,400 canonical and almost 19,000 noncanonical translated elements. Only 14 noncanonical elements were evolving under detectable purifying selection. A representative subset of translated elements lacking signatures of selection demonstrated involvement in processes including DNA repair, stress response, and post-transcriptional regulation. Our results suggest that most translated elements are not conserved protein-coding genes and contribute to genotype-phenotype relationships through fast-evolving molecular mechanisms.
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