A roundabout route to protein production
Friday, July 12, 2013 - 09:00
in Biology & Nature
Proteins are typically encoded by linear strands of messenger RNA (mRNA). These mRNA molecules are translated into polypeptide chains by ribosomes, with each ribosomal read-through of the mRNA generating a single, discrete copy of the encoded protein. New work from Hiroshi Abe and Yoshihiro Ito of the RIKEN Nano Medical Engineering Laboratory now demonstrates the potential to turn a closed loop of mRNA into a steady assembly line for continuous protein production.