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Codon identity regulates mRNA stability and translation efficiency during the maternal‐to‐zygotic transition
Author(s) -
Bazzini Ariel A,
Viso Florencia,
MorenoMateos Miguel A,
Johnstone Timothy G,
Vejnar Charles E,
Qin Yidan,
Yao Jun,
Khokha Mustafa K,
Giraldez Antonio J
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.15252/embj.201694699
Subject(s) - biology , translation (biology) , zygote , messenger rna , transition (genetics) , maternal to zygotic transition , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , embryogenesis
Cellular transitions require dramatic changes in gene expression that are supported by regulated mRNA decay and new transcription. The maternal‐to‐zygotic transition is a conserved developmental progression during which thousands of maternal mRNA s are cleared by post‐transcriptional mechanisms. Although some maternal mRNA s are targeted for degradation by micro RNA s, this pathway does not fully explain mRNA clearance. We investigated how codon identity and translation affect mRNA stability during development and homeostasis. We show that the codon triplet contains translation‐dependent regulatory information that influences transcript decay. Codon composition shapes maternal mRNA clearance during the maternal‐to‐zygotic transition in zebrafish, Xenopus , mouse, and Drosophila , and gene expression during homeostasis across human tissues. Some synonymous codons show consistent stabilizing or destabilizing effects, suggesting that amino acid composition influences mRNA stability. Codon composition affects both polyadenylation status and translation efficiency. Thus, the ribosome interprets two codes within the mRNA : the genetic code which specifies the amino acid sequence and a conserved “codon optimality code” that shapes mRNA stability and translation efficiency across vertebrates.