The role of mRNA and protein stability in gene expression

Abstract

How important is the stability of gene products in the process of gene expression? We use a dual-compartment mathematical model to demonstrate the effects that changing the rates of synthesis and degradation of hypothetical mRNAs and proteins would have on the final concentration of protein. The model predicts that the concentration of protein at steady state equals the product of the rate constants for synthesis of mRNA and protein (ks1 and ks2) divided by the product of the rate constants for degradation (kd1 and kd2) and that the rate at which protein concentration changes depends on the rate constants for degradation of both the mRNA and the protein. This permits great flexibility in controlling induction kinetics for particular gene products, since their synthesis, translation, and degradation may be regulated coordinately to permit induction to be stable or transient or to amplify the final yield of protein. We suggest single exons may encode structural features that cause both mRNAs and proteins to be labile, thereby ensuring that modal stabilities of highly regulated macromolecules are similar.