The Taub Faculty of Computer Science Events and Talks

Recent years have seen intensive progress in measuring protein translation. However, the contributions of coding sequences to the efficiency of the process remain unclear. Here, we identify a universally conserved profile of translation efficiency along mRNAs computed based on adaptation between coding sequences and the tRNA pool. In this profile, the first ~30-50 codons are, on average, translated with a low efficiency. Additionally, in eukaryotes, the last ~50 codons show the highest efficiency over the full coding sequence. The profile predicts accurately position-dependent ribosomal density along yeast genes. These data suggest that translation speed, and as a consequence, ribosomal density, are encoded by coding sequences and the tRNA pool. We suggest that the slow "ramp" at the beginning of mRNAs serves as a late stage of translation initiation, forming an optimal and robust means to reduce ribosomal traffic jams, thus minimizing the cost of protein expression.

Joint with Tamir Tuller, Asaf Carmi, Sivan Navon et al. In Press in Cell 2010

Host: Zohar Yakhini