The amounts and types of mRNA molecules in a cell reflect the function of that cell. In fact, thousands of transcripts are produced every second in every cell. Given this statistic, it is not surprising that the primary control point for gene expression is usually at the very beginning of the protein production process — the initiation of transcription. RNA transcription makes an efficient control point because many proteins can be made from a single mRNA molecule.
Transcript processing provides an additional level of regulation for eukaryotes, and the presence of a nucleus makes this possible. In prokaryotes, translation of a transcript begins before the transcript is complete, due to the proximity of ribosomes to the new mRNA molecules. In eukaryotes, however, transcripts are modified in the nucleus before they are exported to the cytoplasm for translation.
Eukaryotic transcripts are also more complex than prokaryotic transcripts. For instance, the primary transcripts synthesized by RNA polymerase contain sequences that will not be part of the mature RNA. These intervening sequences are called introns, and they are removed before the mature mRNA leaves the nucleus. The remaining regions of the transcript, which include the protein-coding regions, are called exons, and they are spliced together to produce the mature mRNA. Eukaryotic transcripts are also modified at their ends, which affects their stability and translation.
Of course, there are many cases in which cells must respond quickly to changing environmental conditions. In these situations, the regulatory control point may come well after transcription. For example, early development in most animals relies on translational control because very little transcription occurs during the first few cell divisions after fertilization. Eggs therefore contain many maternally originated mRNA transcripts as a ready reserve for translation after fertilization.
On the degradative side of the balance, cells can rapidly adjust their protein levels through the enzymatic breakdown of RNA transcripts and existing protein molecules. Both of these actions result in decreased amounts of certain proteins. Often, this breakdown is linked to specific events in the cell. The eukaryotic cell cycle provides a good example of how protein breakdown is linked to cellular events. This cycle is divided into several phases, each of which is characterized by distinct cyclin proteins that act as key regulators for that phase. Before a cell can progress from one phase of the cell cycle to the next, it must degrade the cyclin that characterizes that particular phase of the cycle. Failure to degrade a cyclin stops the cycle from continuing.
