G-quadruplexes: the beginning and end of UTRs.

ABSTRACT: Molecular mechanisms that regulate gene expression can occur either before or after transcription. The information for post-transcriptional regulation can lie within the sequence or structure of the RNA transcript and it has been proposed that G-quadruplex nucleic acid sequence motifs may regulate translation as well as transcription. Here, we have explored the incidence of G-quadruplex motifs in and around the untranslated regions (UTRs) of mRNA. We observed a significant strand asymmetry, consistent with a general depletion of G-quadruplex-forming RNA. We also observed a positional bias in two distinct regions, each suggestive of a specific function. We observed an excess of G-quadruplex motifs towards the 5'-ends of 5'-UTRs, supportive of a hypothesis linking 5'-UTR RNA G-quadruplexes t

SUBMITTER: Huppert JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2577360 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature