RNA structure: new messages in translation, replication and disease

Abstract

The ‘Current Trends in Biomedicine’ workshop on the role of RNA structures in the translation of viral and cellular RNAs took place between 27 and 29 October 2008, in Baeza, Spain, and was organized by E. Martinez‐Salas, G. Belsham & J. Gomez. ![][1] See Glossary for abbreviations used in this article Since the elucidation of the genetic code approximately 40 years ago, the role of RNA in crucial biological processes has gained increasing attention, and is now one of the fastest developing areas in molecular biology and biochemistry. The advances made in structural studies of transfer RNA (tRNA), ribozymes, riboswitches, the ribosome and viral IRES elements in particular have shown the importance of secondary and tertiary structures in RNA biology, and have significantly changed our understanding of the translational control of gene expression (Fig 1). The World Heritage town of Baeza in Andalucia, Spain, hosted the ‘Current Trends in Biomedicine’ workshop on the role of RNA structures in the translation of viral and cellular RNAs. About 45 participants met in the beautiful buildings of the Sede Antonio Machado at the Universidad Internacional de Andalucia. Figure 1. Schematic illustration of discreet RNA regulatory elements. The translation of an mRNA is regulated by diverse mechanisms that involve both structural and non‐structural RNA elements, as well as interactions with RNA‐binding proteins. IRESes are found in the 5′ UTR and promote cap‐independent translation. Pseudoknots can be located in the 5′ UTR, the 3′ UTR, or the coding region, and their localization influences their effect on translation; for example, initiation, frameshifting and termination. 3′ UTR structural elements such as CREs, CITEs and SLs often function through long‐range RNA interactions. The miRNA target sites are located in the 3′ UTR. The canonical mRNA features of the cap (m7G) and poly(A) are targets of several regulatory interactions. The … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif