Translation efficiency covariation identifies conserved coordination patterns across cell types

Characterizing shared patterns of RNA expression between genes across conditions has led to the discovery of regulatory networks and biological functions. However, it is unclear if such coordination extends to translation. In this study, we uniformly analyze 3,819 ribosome profiling datasets from 117 human and 94 mouse tissues and cell lines. We introduce the concept of translation efficiency covariation (TEC), identifying coordinated translation patterns across cell types. We nominate candidate mechanisms driving shared patterns of translation regulation. TEC is conserved across human and mouse cells and uncovers gene functions that are not evident from RNA or protein co-expression. Moreover, our observations indicate that proteins that physically interact are highly enriched for positive covariation at both translational and transcriptional levels. Our findings establish TEC as a conserved organizing principle of mammalian transcriptomes. TEC has potential as a predictive marker for gene function and may offer a framework for designing gene expression systems in synthetic biology and biotechnological applications.