Translational Potentiation of Messenger RNA with Secondary Structure in Xenopus

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 251; no. 4995; pp. 807 - 810
• Main Authors: Fu, Loning, Ye, Ruiqiong, Browder, Leon W., Johnston, Randal N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 15.02.1991; American Association for the Advancement of Science; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Animals; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Cellular biology; Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase - genetics; Developmental genetics; Developmental stages; Egg Proteins - biosynthesis; Egg Proteins - genetics; Eggs; Embryos; Enzyme activity; Fetuses; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic translation; Genetics; Messenger RNA; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Oocytes; Oogenesis; Oogenesis - genetics; Plasmids; Protein Biosynthesis; RNA; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Somatic cells; Translation (Genetics); Translation. Translation factors. Protein processing; Xenopus; Xenopus laevis - embryology; Xenopus laevis - genetics; Embryonic development; Hairpin loop; Translation; Molecular structure; Xenopus laevis; Amphibia; Salientia; Secondary structure; Oogenesis; Vertebrata; Microinjection; Messenger RNA; Protein synthesis; Hybrid gene
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1990443

Differential translation of messenger RNA (mRNA) with stable secondary structure in the 5′ untranslated leader may contribute to the dramatic changes in protein synthetic patterns that occur during oogenesis and early development. Plasmids that contained the bacterial gene chloramphenicol acetyltransferase and which encoded mRNA with (hpCAT) or without (CAT) a stable hairpin secondary structure in the 5′ noncoding region were transcribed in vitro, and the resulting mRNAs were injected into Xenopus oocytes, eggs, and early embryos. During early oogenesis, hpCAT mRNA was translated at less than 3 percent of the efficiency of CAT mRNA. The relative translational potential of hpCAT reached 100 percent in the newly fertilized egg and returned to approximately 3 percent after the midblastula transition.