Bursting translation of single mRNAS in live cells

Abstract

Translation is the culmination of the central dogma of biology where the nucleic acid information is decoded into the functional biomolecules of life. Much of what we know about translation originates from ensemble or in vitro measurements, which lack precise spatiotemporal resolution or natural physiological context. We previously developed Single Molecule Imaging of Nascent Peptides (SINAPs) to visualize and measure translation dynamics of single mRNAs in living cells. However, it remains challenging to track single mRNAs and their associated translation sites through multiple cycles of translation.