Faculty
Biochemistry
Supervisor Name
Dr. Chris Brandl
Keywords
stop codon readthrough, yeast, translation termination
Description
Stop codon readthrough occurs via genetic and epigenetic mechanisms, resulting in a longer polypeptide chain at the C-terminus. Although these readthroughs may seem like an error made by translational mechanisms, evidence from yeast suggests that stop codon readthrough has an impact on various cellular processes. Readthrough has the potential to create genetic diversity, similar to RNA splicing, mRNA editing, and protein modification. The diversity created by translational readthrough may result in a beneficial change in phenotype, and thus have a role in evolution and adaptability. Translational readthrough is observed in organisms such as yeast and E. coli but may also occur in more complex organisms such as humans. Because readthrough has the potential to cause phenotypical change, errors in the process may contribute to disease.
Acknowledgements
Dr. Chris Brandl
Julie Genereaux
Irina Petrovic
NSERC
Western University & USRI Program
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Document Type
Event
Included in
Investigating stop codon readthrough in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Stop codon readthrough occurs via genetic and epigenetic mechanisms, resulting in a longer polypeptide chain at the C-terminus. Although these readthroughs may seem like an error made by translational mechanisms, evidence from yeast suggests that stop codon readthrough has an impact on various cellular processes. Readthrough has the potential to create genetic diversity, similar to RNA splicing, mRNA editing, and protein modification. The diversity created by translational readthrough may result in a beneficial change in phenotype, and thus have a role in evolution and adaptability. Translational readthrough is observed in organisms such as yeast and E. coli but may also occur in more complex organisms such as humans. Because readthrough has the potential to cause phenotypical change, errors in the process may contribute to disease.