The generation and consequences of N-terminal proteoform diversity

N-terminal proteoforms are protein variants with altered N termini that arise from RNA-driven processes, such as alternative promoter usage, splicing, and translation initiation site usage, as well as protein alterations, such as N-terminal processing and modifications. While our understanding of these mechanisms has grown substantially over the past decade, the interplay between RNA-driven processes and N-terminal proteoforms has received less attention. Here, we summarize recent advancements in our understanding of N-terminal proteoform creation, function, and usage. We highlight advances in alternative translation initiation site usage as well as newly discovered N-degron pathways, and we explore how differences in N termini via processing and modifications can give rise to different N-degrons: elements at the extreme N terminus of proteins that trigger turnover. Many regulatory pathways converge on the N terminus and corresponding nucleotides, and an integrated, multidisciplinary approach holds the potential to reveal new insights into gene regulation and function.