Question

If a cell is stressed, will B bodies be larger or smaller? When cells are highly stressed, stripped of nutrients, asked to divide more than they can, they will repress translation and mRNAs get shuffled to P-bodies and kept in storage, we see P-bodies are _____ because they've had to take in all those mRNAs not being translated, and there will be MORE p bodies too.

A. Larger
B. Smaller

Answer 1

Under stressful conditions, such as nutrient deprivation, cells may repress translation, leading to an increase in both the size and number of P-bodies to store untranslated mRNAs.

Step-by-step explanation:

When cells are stressed and face conditions like nutrient deprivation or increased demands for division, they can undergo a significant shift in their cellular processes. A cellular response to such stress includes changes in protein synthesis. For example, the normal process of translation of mRNAs to proteins is often downregulated or repressed, leading to a concentration of untranslated mRNAs in cytoplasmic structures known as P-bodies.

P-bodies serve as a sort of storage for mRNAs that are not actively being translated. They are dynamic structures that can change in size and number depending on the cellular conditions. During periods of cell stress, when translation is repressed, P-bodies will increase in size to accommodate the influx of untranslated mRNAs. Similarly, the number of P-bodies would also increase to handle the storage demands of these mRNAs. Thus, when cells are highly stressed, P-bodies are larger because of the accumulation of these non-translating mRNAs, and there are more P-bodies present in the cell.