Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

It is widely assumed that the vital processes of transcription and translation are spatially separated in eukaryotes and that no translation occurs in nuclei. We localized translation sites by incubating permeabilized mammalian cells with [3H]lysine or lysyl-transfer RNA tagged with biotin or BODIPY; although most nascent polypeptides were cytoplasmic, some were found in discrete nuclear sites known as transcription "factories." Some of this nuclear translation also depends on concurrent transcription by RNA polymerase II. This coupling is simply explained if nuclear ribosomes translate nascent transcripts as those transcripts emerge from still-engaged RNA polymerases, much as they do in bacteria.

Original publication

DOI

10.1126/science.1061216

Type

Journal article

Journal

Science

Publication Date

10/08/2001

Volume

293

Pages

1139 - 1142

Keywords

Animals, Autoradiography, Biotin, Boron Compounds, COS Cells, Cell Fractionation, Cell Membrane Permeability, Cell Nucleus, Cycloheximide, Cytoplasm, Fluorescence, HeLa Cells, Humans, Immunohistochemistry, Mitochondria, Protein Biosynthesis, Protein Synthesis Inhibitors, Protein Transport, Proteins, RNA Polymerase II, RNA, Transfer, Amino Acyl, Ribosomes, Transcription, Genetic, Tumor Cells, Cultured