Regulation of translation by one-carbon metabolism in bacteria and eukaryotic organelles

Abstract

The capacity to modulate gene expression to enhance their fitness to survive and grow in response to changing intracellular and extracellular conditions is one of the most fascinating features of the biological systems. Translation of mRNAs is a major determinant of the changes in the cellular proteome and its downstream effects, which allow the cell to respond to the external factors such as nutrients, temperature, and pH. And, the modulation of the translational apparatus is one of the ways cells employ to rapidly change gene expression. The process of translation occurs in the nexus of both the nucleotides and amino acids, whose production is coupled with the highly conserved one-carbon metabolism (OCM). OCM acts as a central regulator of cellular one-carbon units/ groups (1, 2). The one-carbon units are essential for the synthesis of metabolites including amino acids such as methionine, as well as thymidylate and purines. The impact of OCM on protein synthesis was recognized as early as the 1970s. Similar to the inhibitors of protein synthesis, the inhibitors of OCM are.