
The Markov Lab at Rowan University is focused on how mitochondrial gene expression is regulated in pathogenic yeast, including Candida albicans and Candida auris. The Anikin Lab at Rowan focuses on mechanisms of transcription as the first stage of gene expression. They have teamed up to study mitochondrial gene expression regulation, particularly how RNA processing and stability control cellular respiratory competence in yeast. While mitochondrial function is similar across eukaryotes, budding yeasts exhibit significant diversity, and the Saccharomyces cerevisiae model may not represent the broader Saccharomycotina subphylum. They used 3' RACE analysis to map the 3' ends of mitochondrial mRNAs and 15S rRNA and electrophoretic mobility shift assays to demonstrate the binding of Rmd9 orthologs to 3' processing elements. They found the following:
- Mitochondrial mRNA and 15S rRNA in budding yeasts undergo 3'-end processing at conserved species-specific elements called "3'-end RNA processing elements”.
- The pentatricopeptide repeat protein Rmd9 interacts with the 3' RNA processing elements and is involved in the 3'-end processing of both mitochondrial mRNAs and 15S rRNA.
- In some species, the 3' RNA processing elements are upstream of the stop codons in complex I subunit mRNAs, suggesting a non-canonical translation termination mechanism in their mitochondrial transcripts.
The pentatricopeptide repeat protein Rmd9 is a conserved regulator of mitochondrial gene expression across budding yeast species, controlling both mRNA 3' end processing and 15S rRNA 3' end processing through interactions with species-specific 3' RNA processing elements.
Anikin M, Henry MF, Hodorova V, Houbaviy HB, Nosek J, Pestov DG, Markov DA. Mitochondrial mRNA and the small subunit rRNA in budding yeasts undergo 3'-end processing at conserved species-specific elements. RNA. 2025 Jan 22;31(2):208-223. doi: 10.1261/rna.080254.124. PMID: 39572231. https://rnajournal.cshlp.org/content/31/2/208.full
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