Proteomic Technologies to Dissect the Post-transcriptional and Translational regulations

Abstract

The ribosome is a molecular machine that decodes mRNA sequences and convert their sequences into proteins. While translational regulation is an important aspect of gene expression control, the ribosome itself is traditionally seen as a rather static machine. However, recent evidence suggests that the composition of the ribosome can vary in terms of ribosomal proteins (RPs), associated factors or post-translational modifications (PTMs). It has therefore been suggested that different types of ribosomes can recognize and preferentially translate specific classes of mRNAs. Here, we systematically characterized such “ribosome heterogeneity” using mass spectrometry-based proteomics. In this review, I summarize an overview of multiple layers of gene expression control and review a recent finding about translational regulation through a phosphorylated ribosome.