Genome organization around nuclear speckles drives mRNA splicing efficiency. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38720076/)

These scientists wanted to understand how a part of the cell called the nucleus organizes itself and how it affects the process of making proteins from genes. They found that there are specific areas in the nucleus called nuclear speckles that are important for controlling how genes are turned into proteins.

The scientists discovered that genes that are located near these nuclear speckles have more of the machinery needed to turn genes into proteins, called spliceosomes. This means that these genes are able to make proteins more efficiently compared to genes that are farther away from the nuclear speckles.

They also found that the organization of genes around these nuclear speckles can change depending on the type of cell. When genes are moved closer to or farther away from the nuclear speckles, it can affect how efficiently they make proteins.

In their study, the scientists were able to show that if they specifically directed a gene to be near a nuclear speckle, it increased the efficiency of making proteins from that gene. This shows that the location of genes in relation to nuclear speckles plays a crucial role in how efficiently genes are turned into proteins.

Overall, this study helps us understand how the three-dimensional organization of genes in the nucleus can impact the process of making proteins, which is important for many biological processes in our bodies.

Bhat P., Chow A., Emert B., Ettlin O., Quinodoz SA., Strehle M., Takei Y., Burr A., Goronzy IN., Chen AW., Huang W., Ferrer JLM., Soehalim E., Goh ST., Chari T., Sullivan DK., Blanco MR., Guttman M. Genome organization around nuclear speckles drives mRNA splicing efficiency. Nature. 2024 May 8. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07429-6.