State of the Art of RNA Metabolism in Eukaryotes

Dear Colleagues,

RNA metabolism in eukaryotes is a complex and highly regulated process that encompasses various cellular activities involved in the synthesis, processing, modification, and degradation of RNA molecules. This fundamental biological process plays a crucial role in gene expression and regulation.

Splicing is one of the key steps in mRNA metabolism, removing intronic sequences from primary transcription products. Splicing machinery often connects different sets of exons, thereby providing a transcriptome diversity in eukaryotic gene expression. The spliced transcripts receive additional modifications including 5’ capping, 3’ polyadenylation, and various other base modifications. These occur primarily in the nucleus and affect the fate of mRNAs in the cytoplasm. After transportation to the cytoplasm, mRNAs can occasionally be further modified at their bases—namely, 5’ cap and 3’ poly(A) tail—and thus be stabilized and translated by ribosomes to produce proteins or degraded by ribonucleases when no longer needed. Erroneous transcripts are also degraded via specific quality control pathways, ensuring proper turnover and recycling of cellular mRNAs.

Important factors that exert a major impact on mRNA fate is the RNA binding protein (RBP). Many RBPs influence mRNA fate by recruiting and/or repelling mRNA processing machineries, mRNA modifiers, translation factors, and ribonucleases. In addition, mRNAs can form large granules with RBPs upon various different stimuli and stresses and are degraded in bulk or stored for later use. mRNAs in granules can also be transported to specific subcellular locations and translated locally. Besides, it has been demonstrated that substantial numbers of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) affect these steps, adding another layer of mRNA regulatory diversity.

Overall, RNA metabolism in eukaryotes is a highly dynamic and tightly regulated process that is essential for gene expression and cellular function. Understanding the intricacies of this process is crucial for unraveling the complexities of cellular biology and disease mechanisms. In this Special Issue, entitled “State of the Art of RNA Metabolism in Eukaryotes”, we encourage original research and reviews related to mRNA processing, mRNA stability, mRNA quality control, and RNA-based medicines.

Dr. Tsuyoshi Udagawa
Dr. Hitomi Tsuiji
Guest Editors

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• mRNA stability
• translation
• polyadenylation
• splicing
• RNA-containing granules
• ncRNA
• mRNA quality control
• RNA medicine