Robert Singer Part 2: RNA Localization: Following Single mRNAs from Birth to Death in Living Cells

To understand the relationship between RNA localization and translation, it is necessary to visualize the movement of the RNA in real time. In his second lecture, Singer explains how his lab found an ingenious way to label RNAs in live cells and follow their movement. In the nucleus, RNA moves by diffusion and stochastically finds a nuclear pore to exit. In the cytoplasm, however, it is a different story. RNA, in a translationally repressed state, undergoes directed movement along the cytoskeleton. Once it reaches its destination, translation is activated. Singer’s lab showed that neuronal stimulation leads to ß-actin mRNA localization to dendritic spines, followed by translation, and stabilization of the synapse; events that are crucial for memory and learning.