Translation initiation factor eIF4G1 preferentially binds yeast transcript leaders containing conserved oligo-uridine motifs

Translational control of gene expression plays essential roles in cellular stress responses and organismal development by enabling rapid, selective, and localized control of protein production. Translational regulation depends on context-dependent differences in the protein output of mRNAs, but the key mRNA features that distinguish efficiently translated mRNAs are largely unknown. Here we comprehensively determined the RNA-binding preferences of the initiation factor eIF4G to assess whether this core translation initiation factor has intrinsic sequence preferences that contribute to preferential translation of specific mRNAs.基因表达的翻译调控（translational control）通过实现蛋白质合成的快速、选择性与本地化调控，在细胞应激反应及个体发育过程中发挥关键作用。翻译调控依赖于不同上下文环境下mRNA的蛋白质产出差异，但目前学界对区分高效翻译mRNA的核心mRNA特征仍知之甚少。本研究全面测定了翻译起始因子eIF4G的RNA结合偏好性，以探究该核心翻译起始因子是否具有内在序列偏好性，进而对特定mRNA的优先翻译起到促进作用。