Large Scale Investigation in Yeast, to Identify Novel Gene(s) Involved in Translation Pathway

As a fundamental step in the gene expression pathway, protein synthesis (also known as translation) plays a crucial role in the biology of a cell. Although much has been discovered about the translation pathway over the last few decades, the list of novel factors affecting the translation pathway continues to grow indicating the presence of other novel players associated with the protein synthesis pathway which are yet to be discovered. This study aimed to identify novel genes involved in the translation pathway. To this end, we used a variety of large-scale screening techniques followed by low throughput experimental analyses designed for genetic studies in yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using molecular biology techniques and bioinformatics, we systematically investigated the effect of specific gene deletions on translation fidelity and efficiency, Internal Ribosome Entry Sites (IRESs) functionality and translation-related helicase activities, for a total of ~ 70,000 strain analysis. We further studied the activity of ~15 genes in more details for their involvement in translation pathway. In light of the current study we propose that there remain other uncharacterized factors that influence translation regulation. Further investigations to characterize these novel factors are recommended.