The secondary structure is a fundamental feature of both non-coding RNAs(ncRNAs)and messenger RNAs(mRNAs).However,our understanding of the secondary structures of mRNAs,especially those of the coding regions,remains e...The secondary structure is a fundamental feature of both non-coding RNAs(ncRNAs)and messenger RNAs(mRNAs).However,our understanding of the secondary structures of mRNAs,especially those of the coding regions,remains elusive,likely due to translation and the lack of RNA-binding proteins that sustain the consensus structure like those binding to ncRNAs.Indeed,mRNAs have recently been found to adopt diverse alternative structures,but the overall functional significance remains untested.We hereby approach this problem by estimating the folding specificity,i.e.,the probability that a fragment of an mRNA folds back to the same partner once refolded.We show that the folding specificity of mRNAs is lower than that of ncRNAs and exhibits moderate evolutionary conservation.Notably,we find that specific rather than alternative folding is likely evolutionarily adaptive since specific folding is frequently associated with functionally important genes or sites within a gene.Additional analysis in combination with ribosome density suggests the ability to modulate ribosome movement as one potential functional advantage provided by specific folding.Our findings reveal a novel facet of the RNA structurome with important functional and evolutionary implications and indicate a potential method for distinguishing the mRNA secondary structures maintained by natural selection from molecular noise.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key Technology R&D Program of China(Grant Nos.2017YFA0103504 to XC,2018ZX10301402 to JRY)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.31671320,31871320,and 81830103 to JRY)the start-up grants from the“100 Top Talents Program”of Sun Yat-sen University,China(Grant Nos.50000-18821112 to XC,50000-18821117 to JRY).
文摘The secondary structure is a fundamental feature of both non-coding RNAs(ncRNAs)and messenger RNAs(mRNAs).However,our understanding of the secondary structures of mRNAs,especially those of the coding regions,remains elusive,likely due to translation and the lack of RNA-binding proteins that sustain the consensus structure like those binding to ncRNAs.Indeed,mRNAs have recently been found to adopt diverse alternative structures,but the overall functional significance remains untested.We hereby approach this problem by estimating the folding specificity,i.e.,the probability that a fragment of an mRNA folds back to the same partner once refolded.We show that the folding specificity of mRNAs is lower than that of ncRNAs and exhibits moderate evolutionary conservation.Notably,we find that specific rather than alternative folding is likely evolutionarily adaptive since specific folding is frequently associated with functionally important genes or sites within a gene.Additional analysis in combination with ribosome density suggests the ability to modulate ribosome movement as one potential functional advantage provided by specific folding.Our findings reveal a novel facet of the RNA structurome with important functional and evolutionary implications and indicate a potential method for distinguishing the mRNA secondary structures maintained by natural selection from molecular noise.
