Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 1, 2025

Measurement of mRNA Decay Rates in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Using rpb1-1 Strains
12:21

Measurement of mRNA Decay Rates in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Using rpb1-1 Strains

Published on: December 13, 2014

12.6K

Current insight into the role of mRNA decay pathways in fungal pathogenesis

Zulikha Firdous1, Sapna Kalra1, Rituja Chattopadhyay1

  • 1Department of Biochemistry, School of Basic Sciences, Central University of Punjab, VPO-Ghudda, Bathinda 151401, India.

Microbiological Research
|March 13, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Fungal infections pose a severe threat, especially to vulnerable patients. Targeting messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation pathways offers a promising strategy to combat fungal pathogens and enhance existing antifungal therapies.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Mycology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Pathogenesis Research

Background:

  • Pathogenic fungi cause infections ranging from superficial to life-threatening systemic diseases.
  • These infections disproportionately affect immunocompromised individuals, leading to high morbidity and mortality.
  • Fungal adaptation involves significant alterations in cellular metabolism and virulence factors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review mRNA degradation pathways in pathogenic fungi.
  • To highlight the role of post-transcriptional regulation in fungal pathogenesis.
  • To explore novel therapeutic strategies targeting mRNA pathways.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on fungal mRNA degradation.
  • Analysis of post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms in fungal virulence.
  • Examination of RNA-binding proteins and their function.

Main Results:

  • mRNA degradation and stability, controlled by untranslated regions and RNA-binding proteins, are critical for fungal morphogenesis and virulence.
  • Post-transcriptional controls are key regulatory mechanisms in fungal pathogenesis.
  • Targeting mRNA pathways presents a viable approach to reduce fungal pathogenicity.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding mRNA degradation pathways is crucial for developing new antifungal treatments.
  • Novel therapies targeting mRNA components can decrease fungal virulence.
  • Combination therapies involving mRNA pathway inhibitors may improve the efficacy of current antifungal drugs.
Keywords:
Ccr4-Not complexFungal virulencePathogenic fungiPost-transcriptional regulationmRNA degradation

More Related Videos

Determining Genome-wide Transcript Decay Rates in Proliferating and Quiescent Human Fibroblasts07:03

Determining Genome-wide Transcript Decay Rates in Proliferating and Quiescent Human Fibroblasts

Published on: January 2, 2018

6.2K
Saccharomyces cerevisiae Metabolic Labeling with 4-thiouracil and the Quantification of Newly Synthesized mRNA As a Proxy for RNA Polymerase II Activity09:21

Saccharomyces 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

9.1K

Related Concept Videos

mRNA Stability and Gene Expression02:51

mRNA Stability and Gene Expression

The structure and stability of mRNA molecules regulates gene expression, as mRNAs are a key step in the pathway from gene to protein. In eukaryotes, the half-life of mRNA varies from a few minutes up to several days. mRNA stability is essential in growth and development. The absence of the proteins regulating its stability, such as tristetraprolin in mice, can cause systemic issues, including bone marrow overgrowth, inflammation, and autoimmunity.
Cis-acting Elements involved in mRNA stability
5.6K
Nuclear Export of mRNA02:31

Nuclear Export of mRNA

Before mRNAs are exported to the cytoplasm, it is crucial to check each mRNA for structural and functional integrity. Eukaryotic cells use several different mechanisms, collectively known as mRNA surveillance, to look for irregularities in mRNAs. Irregular or aberrant mRNA are rapidly degraded by various enzymes. If a defective mRNA escapes the surveillance, it would be translated into a protein which would either be non-functional or not function properly. One of the primary irregularities in...
7.7K
Nonsense-mediated mRNA Decay02:27

Nonsense-mediated mRNA Decay

The Upf proteins that carry out nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) are found in all eukaryotic organisms, including humans. Each protein has an individual role, but they need to work in collaboration. Upf1 is an ATP-dependent RNA helicase that unwinds the RNA helix. Because Upf1 can unwind any RNA, Upf2 and Upf3 are required to help Upf1 discriminate between nonsense and normal mRNAs.
Usually, Upf3 binds to an Exon Junction Complex (EJC) at mRNA splice sites. If a ribosome fully translates the mRNA,...
10.6K
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps01:23

Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps

The gene expression in cells is regulated at different stages: (i) transcription, (ii) RNA processing, (iii) RNA localization, and (iv) translation. Transcriptional regulation is mediated by regulatory proteins such as transcription factors, activators, or repressors—these control gene expression by initiating or inhibiting the transcription of genes. Once a precursor or pre-mRNA is produced, it undergoes post-transcriptional modification, including 5' capping, splicing, and the...
904
Riboswitches01:56

Riboswitches

Riboswitches are non-coding mRNA domains that regulate the transcription and translation of downstream genes without the help of proteins. Riboswitches bind directly to a metabolite and can form unique stem-loop or hairpin structures in response to the amount of the metabolite present. They have two distinct regions – a metabolite-binding aptamer and an expression platform.
The aptamer has high specificity for a particular metabolite which allows riboswitches to specifically regulate...
8.1K
RNA Stability01:53

RNA Stability

Intact DNA strands can be found in fossils, while scientists sometimes struggle to keep RNA intact under laboratory conditions. The structural variations between RNA and DNA underlie the differences in their stability and longevity. Because DNA is double-stranded, it is inherently more stable. The single-stranded structure of RNA is less stable but also more flexible and can form weak internal bonds. Additionally, most RNAs in the cell are relatively short, while DNA can be up to 250 million...
33.5K