Many different mRNAs (green) stake out specific locations in fly embryo cells.

KRAUSE/ELSEVIER

Location, location, location. It's critical for real estate, proteins, and—according to work by Eric Lécuyer, Henry Krause, and colleagues (University of Toronto, Canada)—mRNAs, too.

Several localized mRNAs have been previously studied, but just how many transcripts are localized in the cell, and in what patterns, is unknown. Lécuyer et al. approached this problem by optimizing fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in a global analysis of developmentally expressed mRNAs. They found that 71% of the mRNAs in early fly embryos showed specific patterns of subcellular localization.

In several cases, they found new examples of mRNAs that colocalized with their protein products. Less energy is probably required to transport a few copies of an mRNA than to move around many more copies of the protein. And the proteins will be created where they are...

The Rockefeller University Press
2007
The Rockefeller University Press
2007
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