title: The importance of controlling mRNA turnover during cell proliferation.
abstract: Microbial gene expression depends not only on specific regulatory mechanisms, but also on cellular growth because important global parameters, such as abundance of mRNAs and ribosomes, could be growth rate dependent. Understanding these global effects is necessary to quantitatively judge gene regulation. In the last few years, transcriptomic works in budding yeast have shown that a large fraction of its genes is coordinately regulated with growth rate. As mRNA levels depend simultaneously on synthesis and degradation rates, those studies were unable to discriminate the respective roles of both arms of the equilibrium process. We recently analyzed 80 different genomic experiments and found a positive and parallel correlation between both RNA polymerase II transcription and mRNA degradation with growth rates. Thus, the total mRNA concentration remains roughly constant. Some gene groups, however, regulate their mRNA concentration by uncoupling mRNA stability from the transcription rate. Ribosome-related genes modulate their transcription rates to increase mRNA levels under fast growth. In contrast, mitochondria-related and stress-induced genes lower mRNA levels by reducing mRNA stability or the transcription rate, respectively. We critically review here these results and analyze them in relation to their possible extrapolation to other organisms and in relation to the new questions they open.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Hospital Virgen del Rocío-CSIC-Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain. schavez@us.es.|Departamento de Genética, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain. schavez@us.es.
authors.forename: Sebastián
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chávez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Universitat de València, Burjassot, Spain.|ERI Biotecmed, Universitat de València, Burjassot, Spain.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Hospital Virgen del Rocío-CSIC-Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain.|Departamento de Genética, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain.
authors.forename: Lidia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Delgado-Ramos
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universitat de València, Burjassot, Spain. jose.e.perez@uv.es.|ERI Biotecmed, Universitat de València, Burjassot, Spain. jose.e.perez@uv.es.
authors.forename: José E
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1992-513X
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Pérez-Ortín
mesh_terms: D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D020871:RNA Stability; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D015003:Yeasts / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger
keywords: Gene expression; Growth rate; Transcription; Yeast; mRNA half-life; mRNA turnover