[PNAS] Genetic Element that Localizes mRNA to Synapses Identified
March 9, 2012
Scientists at Kyoto University and UCLA have succeeded in identifying a genetic element that causes messenger RNA (mRNA) to localize to synapses. The discovery, published in the March 1 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), promises to open the door to greater understanding of how experiences are recorded in the brain as memories.
Asst. Prof. Dan Ohtan Wang of Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), working together with the research group of Prof. 
Kelsey Martin at UCLA's Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, successfully identified the "address" of a section of cis-acting genetic code that controls the localization of mRNA.
The researchers anticipate that, in addition to aiding in understanding the mechanisms by which RNAs are localized to specific compartments of neurons, the research will further the study of how RNA messages are precisely controlled within synapses and neural circuits.
Publication information
Identification of a cis-acting element that localizes mRNA to synapses
Elliott J. Meer*, Dan Ohtan Wang*, Sangmok Kim, Ian Barr, Feng Guo, and Kelsey C. Martin
*These authors contributed equally to this work.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) | DOI:10.1073/pnas.1116269109 | Published March 1, 2012