The regulation of gene expression in plants - Zachary Paling 🌱🧬

A plant science PhD student explains the importance of researching gene regulation in plants and his journey through plant science so far. 🌱🧬

In particular, Zach researches something called an open reading frame (ORF) which is a part of a messenger RNA (mRNA) that can be translated into a protein by the ribosome. The ribosome is like a machine that reads the mRNA and makes proteins from it. The mRNA is like a recipe that tells the ribosome what ingredients (amino acids) to use and in what order to make the protein. There can be more than one ORF in an mRNA; an upstream open reading frame (uORF) and a main open reading frame (mORF). The mORF makes proteins for the cell but the uORF can have different functions; it can stop or slow down the translation of the mORF by making the ribosome pause or fall off the mRNA. This is like putting a stop sign or a speed bump on the road that the ribosome travels on.

A conserved peptide upstream open reading frame (CPuORF) is a type of uORF that makes a particular protein (peptide). Some CPuORFs can control the translation of their mORFs by making the ribosome stall only when certain conditions are met, such as when there is too much or too little of a specific molecule in the cell. This is like having a traffic light that changes color depending on the situation. CPuORFs are associated with regulatory genes in plants, which means that they help control how plants grow, develop and respond to their environment. For example, some CPuORFs in plants can sense when there is too much or too little arginine, which is an amino acid that plants need to make proteins and other molecules. When there is enough arginine, the CPuORFs let the ribosome pass and translate the mORFs normally. But when there is not enough arginine, the CPuORFs make the ribosome stop and wait until more arginine is available. This way, the plants can save energy and resources by not making proteins that they don’t need at the moment.

00:00 Introduction
00:17 Gene regulation in plants
00:51 Why is this research important?
01:17 Zachary's journey through plant science
01:44 What is rewarding about doing a PhD?

Speaker profile: Zach is a Gatsby-funded Plant Sciences PhD Student at the University of Leeds where he researches ribosomal stalling by Conserved Peptide upstream Open Reading Frames (CPuORFs) and the conditional expression of the downstream main Open Reading Frame.

Filmed at the Gatsby Plant Science Summer School, 2022.
#plantscience #genetics #phdlife