ABSTRACT
Eukaryotic cells adopt different mechanisms to control gene expression: Transcriptional regulation, post-transcriptional control o f m RN A translation and turnover, and post-translational regulation o f proteins. Another mechanism, the localization o f RNAs, is emerging as an important process to restrict certain messages and proteins to specific subcellular domains and thus spatially control the expression o f genes within cells. Messenger RN A localization has been studied in many organisms and cell types and research over the last decade has shown that homologues o f key components o f the mRNA localization machinery are conserved from yeast to mammals. In mammalian neurons, local translation o f mRNAs in dendrites as well as growth cones allows for de novo synapse formation, the morphological re-arrangement o f dendritic spines and for the regulation o f the efficacy in the strength, e.g., electrical properties o f existing synapses.
