RNA structure and RNA-protein recognition during regulation of eukaryotic gene expression

摘要

Gene expression in higher organisms is regulated after transcription through messenger RNA (mRNA) stability, transport and localization and through the excision of non-coding regions (pre-mRNA splicing). Durign these maturation events, mRNA are complexed in ribonucleoprotein particles with proteins that recognize specific RNA sequences to affect these different regulatory steps. The assembly of large ribonucleoproteins performing RNA splicing (spliceosome) and translation (ribosome) also depends on recognition of spliceosomal snRNAs and ribosomal RNA, drespectively, by constitutive and auxiliary protein factors. Understanding the molecular basis of RNA-protein recognition is therefore necessary to understand these regulatory events and to learn how to exogeneously regulate gene-expression.