Week In Science

An article in the current edition of Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology entitled 'P bodies: at the crossroads of post-transcriptional pathways' tells of P bodies and mRNAs. The transcription function has been known to be a focal point for the regulation of protein synthesis. As the article pointed out eukaryotic gene expression is regulated through control of transcription.

There are proteins whose functions entail mRNA degradation and translational repression. Two proteins, identified as Dhh1p and Pat1p, have previously been found to have regulatory functions through their interaction with mRNA. The article refers to P bodies which are cellular structures where mRNA is routed and then either degraded or stored. To quote the authors of this article:

"The available evidence indicates that P bodies are sites where mRNAs that are not being translated accumulate, the information carried by associated proteins and regulatory RNAs is integrated, and their fate — either translation, silencing or decay — is decided."