18 September Journal club paper

[Lindsay]

here is the paper that I chose to read/discuss this week. I chose it
because it seems like a really fundamental question that they are
studying that will be of interest to most people. I think that
everyone will bring a unique perspective to this problem because of
the complexity of their experiment and of their analysis. If you know
anyone who might be able to contribute interesting conversation,
please invite them!

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v473/n7347/full/nature10098.html#/affil-auth

Abstract: Gene expression is a multistep process that involves the
transcription, translation and turnover of messenger RNAs and
proteins. Although it is one of the most fundamental processes of
life, the entire cascade has never been quantified on a genome-wide
scale. Here we simultaneously measured absolute mRNA and protein
abundance and turnover by parallel metabolic pulse labelling for more
than 5,000 genes in mammalian cells. Whereas mRNA and protein levels
correlated better than previously thought, corresponding half-lives
showed no correlation. Using a quantitative model we have obtained the
first genome-scale prediction of synthesis rates of mRNAs and
proteins. We find that the cellular abundance of proteins is
predominantly controlled at the level of translation. Genes with
similar combinations of mRNA and protein stability shared functional
properties, indicating that half-lives evolved under energetic and
dynamic constraints. Quantitative information about all stages of gene
expression provides a rich resource and helps to provide a greater
understanding of the underlying design principles.