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Mechanistic insights into the basis of widespread RNA localization

Nature Cell Biology volume 26, pages 1037–1046 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

The importance of subcellular mRNA localization is well established, but the underlying mechanisms mostly remain an enigma. Early studies suggested that specific mRNA sequences recruit RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) to regulate mRNA localization. However, despite the observation of thousands of localized mRNAs, only a handful of these sequences and RBPs have been identified. This suggests the existence of alternative, and possibly predominant, mechanisms for mRNA localization. Here I re-examine currently described mRNA localization mechanisms and explore alternative models that could account for its widespread occurrence.

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Fig. 1: Schematic illustration of the different mechanisms of subcellular RNA localization.

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Acknowledgements

M.C. is supported by a DFG Heisenberg grant. I thank I. Loedige and D. Niessing for their critical reading of the manuscript. BioRender was used in figure generation. I apologize to all the authors whose work could not be cited due to space limitations.

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    Marina Chekulaeva

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Chekulaeva, M. Mechanistic insights into the basis of widespread RNA localization. Nat Cell Biol 26, 1037–1046 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-024-01444-5

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