A gene is defined as that part of the genome (DNA) that
contains the information for the production of a protein product. Transcription is the first step in the
process that converts the information contained within the reading frame into
what is referred to as messenger RNA (m-RNA).
It is the m-RNA that migrates to the highly specialized cell organelles,
the ribosomes, where proteins are ultimately produced. This phase is called translation. It seems that the translation products of
HCMV are far more complex than previously believed.
To help unravel this apparent mystery, Dr. Noam
Stern-Ginossar and colleagues at the Department of Cellular and Molecular
Pharmacology at Howard Hughes Medical Institute of California at San Francisco
infected human foreskin fibroblasts (HFFs) with a clinical strain of HCMV. They subsequently harvested cells 5, 24 and
72 hours post infection and analyzed the full range of translation protein
products.
As a result of this very intensive analysis, they were able
to identify 751 translated ORFs - hundreds of which had not been identified
before. The explanation that best fits
the results is that transcription involves the use of alternative start sites with
the net effect being the production of multiple and distinct protein
products. This result was not
anticipated by the investigators and demonstrates a level of complexity that
far exceeded expectations.
This kind of work is significant in that it provides
important insights into the full scope of the functional and antigenic – a
measure of the capacity to produce an immune response – potential of HCMV.
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