Synergistic Methods to Investigate Eukaryotic Translation and Its Quality Control

Eukaryotic translation is a highly regulated cellular process that not only directs the synthesis of proper polypeptides, but also helps to ensure the timely decay of faulty transcripts. In this review, we highlight the interdisciplinary approaches that have yielded key insights into mechanisms of the latter stages of eukaryotic translation and associated quality control pathways in the past decade. Synergies of these approaches are demonstrated through examination of recent discoveries regarding translation termination, ribosomal recycling, Nonsense-Mediated mRNA Decay, and No-Go Decay. In the long run, a detailed understanding of how translation concludes on normal and defective transcripts has the potential to inform the development of novel therapeutics for many hereditary diseases.