Gene length as a regulator for ribosome recruitment and protein synthesis: theoretical insights
Résumé
Protein synthesis rates are determined, at the translational level, by properties of the transcript’s sequence. The efficiency of an mRNA can be tuned by varying the ribosome binding sites controlling the recruitment of the ribosomes, or the codon usage establishing the speed of protein elongation. In this work we promote transcript length as a further key determinant of translation efficiency. Based on a physical model that considers the kinetics of
ribosomes advancing on the mRNA and diffusing in its surrounding, we explain how the transcript length might play a central role in establishing ribosome recruitment and the overall translation rate of an mRNA. We also demonstrate how this process might be involved in shaping the experimental ribosome density-gene length dependence. Finally, we argue that cells could exploit this mechanism to adjust and balance the usage of its ribosomal resources.