Lectures and seminars Endoplasmic Reticulum: A New Player in the mRNA Decay Game

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is traditionally viewed as the site of protein folding and quality control, while translation and mRNA decay have largely been considered independent processes. Recently, my group uncovered an unexpected role of the ER as a central regulator of translation-dependent mRNA fate during heat stress in plants and more broadly in eukaryotes. Using complementary genetic, biochemical, and genome-wide approaches, including RNAseq, 5′Pseq, small RNAseq, and FLEPseq2, we demonstrated that heat stress rapidly activates the ER, triggering extensive co-translational cleavage of cellular mRNAs within minutes of heat stress onset. Rather than acting on a restricted subset of transcripts, this previously unrecognized RNA decay process represents a rapid, transcriptome-wide response whose magnitude scales with heat intensity, allowing proportional remodeling of gene expression according to stress severity. During this talk, I will present this new decay mechanism, its regulation, and its conservation across eukaryotic lineages.

Host

Vicent Pelechano, Scilifelab and Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, KI