title: Coupling mRNA synthesis and decay.
abstract: What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. -Ecclesiastes 1:9 (New International Version) Posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression has an important role in defining the phenotypic characteristics of an organism. Well-defined steps in mRNA metabolism that occur in the nucleus-capping, splicing, and polyadenylation-are mechanistically linked to the process of transcription. Recent evidence suggests another link between RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and a posttranscriptional process that occurs in the cytoplasm-mRNA decay. This conclusion appears to represent a conundrum. How could mRNA synthesis in the nucleus and mRNA decay in the cytoplasm be mechanistically linked? After a brief overview of mRNA processing, we will review the recent evidence for transcription-coupled mRNA decay and the possible involvement of Snf1, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae ortholog of AMP-activated protein kinase, in this process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA ety@uw.edu.
authors.forename: Elton T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005095:Exoribonucleases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020871:RNA Stability; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; C071570:SNF1-related protein kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D012319:RNA Polymerase II; D005095:Exoribonucleases; C068398:XRN1 protein, S cerevisiae