Post-transcriptional regulation of ribosome biogenesis in yeast
Authors:Isabelle C. Kos-Braun and Martin Koš
doi: 10.15698/mic2017.05.575
Volume 4, pp. 179 to 181, published 01/05/2017.
Biochemistry Center, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 328, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
Keywords:
Tor pathway, TORC1, Casein kinase 2 (CK2), rRNA processing, ribosome biogenesis, yeast.
Corresponding Author(s):
Conflict of interest statement:
No competing interests exist.
Please cite this article as:
Please cite this article as: Isabelle C. Kos-Braun and Martin Koš (2017). Post-transcriptional regulation of ribosome biogenesis in yeast. Microbial Cell 4(5): 179-181. doi: 10.15698/mic2017.05.575
© 2017 Kos-Braun and Koš. This is an open-access article released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows the unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are acknowledged.
Abstract:
Most microorganisms are exposed to the constantly and often rapidly changing environment. As such they evolved mechanisms to balance their metabolism and energy expenditure with the resources available to them. When resources become scarce or conditions turn out to be unfavourable for growth, cells reduce their metabolism and energy usage to survive. One of the major energy consuming processes in the cell is ribosome biogenesis. Unsurprisingly, cells encountering adverse conditions immediately shut down production of new ribosomes. It is well established that nutrient depletion leads to a rapid repression of transcription of the genes encoding ribosomal proteins, ribosome biogenesis factors as well as ribosomal RNA (rRNA). However, if pre-rRNA processing and ribosome assembly are regulated post-transcriptionally remains largely unclear. We have recently uncovered that the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae rapidly switches between two alternative pre-rRNA processing pathways depending on the environmental conditions. Our findings reveal a new level of complexity in the regulation of ribosome biogenesis.