mRNA translation from a unidirectional traffic perspective

TL;DR

This paper reviews the use of the TASEP model to understand the physics and dynamics of mRNA translation, highlighting its successes, limitations, and potential future directions in studying ribosome traffic.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the TASEP framework in modeling mRNA translation, discussing its evolution, limitations, and proposing extensions for future research.

Findings

TASEP effectively models ribosome traffic and translation dynamics.

Limitations of TASEP include assumptions that may oversimplify biological complexity.

Future extensions could improve understanding of translation regulation.

Abstract

mRNA translation is a crucial process that leads to protein synthesis in living cells. Therefore, it is a process that needs to work optimally for a cell to stay healthy and alive. With advancements in microscopy and novel experimental techniques, a lot of the intricate details about the translation mechanism are now known. However, the why and how of this mechanism are still ill understood, and therefore, is an active area of research. Theoretical studies of mRNA translation typically view it in terms of the Totally Asymmetric Simple Exclusion Process or TASEP. Various works have used the TASEP model in order to study a wide range of phenomena and factors affecting translation, such as ribosome traffic on an mRNA under noisy (codon-dependent or otherwise) conditions, ribosome stalling, premature termination, ribosome reinitiation and dropoff, codon-dependent elongation and competition among mRNA for ribosomes, among others. In this review, we relay the history and physics of the translation process in terms of the TASEP framework. In particular, we discuss the viability and evolution of this model and its limitations while also formulating the reasons behind its success. Finally, we also identify gaps in the existing literature and suggest possible extensions and applications that will lead to a better understanding of ribosome traffic on the mRNA.