Breaking the code of polyadenylation-induced translation

The translation of many maternal mRNAs is regulated by dynamic changes in poly(A) tail length. During maturation of Xenopus oocytes, polyadenylation is mediated by three different cis elements in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of maternal mRNAs. In this issue, Pique et al. (2008) explore the interplay of these elements to elucidate a combinatorial code that predicts the timing of polyadenylation and translation of maternal mRNAs.