Location, Location, Location

摘要

Eukaryotic messenger RNAs (mRNAs) can be targeted to specific subcellular compartments in the cytoplasm, where localized translation occurs. In prokaryotic cells, gene transcription and translation are generally considered to be tightly coupled, with protein localization driven by intrinsic features of proteins and not of their mRNA transcripts. However, Nevo-Dinur et al. (p. 1081; see the Perspective by Ramamurthi) now show that, in live Escherichia coli cells, tagged mRNAs are transported to the locations in the cell where the proteins they encode function. Thus, protein localization in bacteria can be determined at the level of mRNA targeting in a translation-independent manner.