A tool to control and visualize RNA translation and decay one molecule at the time allowed FMI researchers to discover that translation promotes RNA degradation. (Credit: Pratik Dave)
A tool to control and visualize RNA translation and decay one molecule at the time allowed FMI researchers to discover that translation promotes RNA degradation. (Credit: Pratik Dave) In the cell, messenger RNAs — or mRNAs — are translated into proteins and eventually degraded, but the relationship between translation and mRNA decay remains cloudy. FMI researchers developed an innovative tool to control and visualize mRNA translation and decay, one molecule at the time. The team discovered that translation promotes mRNA degradation — a finding that may help advance the development of RNA-based drugs. The balance between translation and mRNA decay is essential for the cell's health, but it's unclear whether translation promotes or decreases mRNA degradation. To address this question, researchers led by Pratik Dave in the Chao group developed an approach to control the translation of a specific mRNA. This tool allowed them to visualize proteins as they were being produced and image mRNA decay with single-molecule precision.
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