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Review
. 2009 Jun;21(3):403-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2009.03.005. Epub 2009 Apr 23.

Polysomes, P bodies and stress granules: states and fates of eukaryotic mRNAs

Vidya Balagopal  1 , Roy Parker
Affiliations
Review

Polysomes, P bodies and stress granules: states and fates of eukaryotic mRNAs

Vidya Balagopal et al. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2009 Jun.

Abstract

The control of translation and mRNA degradation plays a key role in the regulation of eukaryotic gene expression. In the cytosol, mRNAs engaged in translation are distributed throughout the cytosol, while translationally inactive mRNAs can accumulate in P bodies, in complex with mRNA degradation and translation repression machinery, or in stress granules, which appear to be mRNAs stalled in translation initiation. Here we discuss how these different granules suggest a dynamic model for the metabolism of cytoplasmic mRNAs wherein they cycle between different mRNP states with different functional properties and subcellular locations.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The mRNA cycle
mRNA can exist in at least 3 states in the cytoplasm- Polysomes, P bodies and Stress granules. Recruitment of translational repressors such as Dhh1 and Pat1 facilitate the movement of mRNA into a non-translating state. Kinetic competition ensues between ribosome run-off, recruitment of decapping machinery, decapping followed by transcript degradation and aggregation into a P body. mRNAs complexed with the decapping machinery can be degraded, aggregate into a P body, or enter back into translation. Limiting conditions of translation initiation may be overcome by aggregation into Stress granules where local concentration of translation apparatus is high.
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