One way in which long, non-coding RNAs control gene expression in yeast is to accelerate the activation of protein-coding genes.
Elizabeth Tran and her colleagues at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, studied various strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in which the GAL genes are repressed or activated by different sugars in the environment. The team found that when these genes are released from a repressed state, long non-coding RNA molecules (lncRNAs) speed up GAL gene expression by quickly recruiting a key enzyme needed to make proteins. The lncRNAs also hinder the binding of molecules that repress GAL genes.
The team suggests that these particular lncRNAs leave yeast poised and ready to quickly switch carbon sources in response to environmental changes.
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RNAs leave yeast poised for action. Nature 504, 11 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/504011c
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/504011c
