Seeking a Role for Translational Control by Alternative Polyadenylation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Alternative polyadenylation (APA) represents an important mechanism for regulating isoform-specific translation efficiency, stability, and localisation. Though some progress has been made in understanding its consequences in metazoans, the role of APA in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae remains a relative mystery because, despite abundant studies on the translational state of mRNA, none differentiate mRNA isoforms’ alternative 3′-end. This review discusses the implications of alternative polyadenylation in S. cerevisiae using other organisms to draw inferences. Given the foundational role that research in this yeast has played in the discovery of the mechanisms of cleavage and polyadenylation and in the drivers of APA, it is surprising that such an inference is required. However, because advances in ribosome profiling are insensitive to APA, how it impacts translation is still unclear. To bridge the gap between widespread observed APA and the discovery of any functional consequence, we also provide a review of the experimental techniques used to uncover the functional importance of 3′ UTR isoforms on translation.