Deadenylation and P-bodies.

Deadenylation is the major step in triggering mRNA decay and results in mRNA translation inhibition in eukaryotic cells. Therefore, it is plausible that deadenylation also induces the mRNP remodeling required for formation of GW bodies or RNA processing bodies (P-bodies), which harbor translationally silenced mRNPs. In this chapter, we discuss several examples to illustrate the roles of deadenylation in regulating gene expression. We highlight several lines of evidence indicating that even though non-translatable mRNPs may be prepared and/or assembled into P-bodies in different ways, deadenylation is always a necessary, and perhaps the earliest, step in mRNA decay pathways that enable mRNP remodeling required for P-body formation. Thus, deadenylation and the participating deadenylases are not simply required for preparing mRNA substrates; they play an indispensable role both structurally and functionally in P-body formation and regulation.