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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Mar 13.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2021 Sep 30;23(2):93–106. doi: 10.1038/s41580-021-00417-y

Figure 3. Eukaryotic mRNA deadenylation and decay.

Figure 3

Before an mRNA can be degraded, its poly(A) tail is removed by the Pan2-Pan3 and/or Ccr4-Not deadenylation complexes. This releases PABPC and may weaken the association of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) with the 5′-cap (purple circle). The decapping machinery can then access and remove the 5′-cap. Lsm1-7 can associate with oligo-A or 3′ uridylated tails to help recruit the decapping machinery. Decapping is followed by degradation of the mRNA in the 5′-3′ direction by Xrn1 or in the 3′-5′ direction by the cytoplasmic exosome.