Programmed -1 frameshifting efficiency correlates with RNA pseudoknot conformational plasticity, not resistance to mechanical unfolding.

ABSTRACT: Programmed -1 frameshifting, whereby the reading frame of a ribosome on messenger RNA is shifted in order to generate an alternate gene product, is often triggered by a pseudoknot structure in the mRNA in combination with an upstream slippery sequence. The efficiency of frameshifting varies widely for different sites, but the factors that determine frameshifting efficiency are not yet fully understood. Previous work has suggested that frameshifting efficiency is related to the resistance of the pseudoknot against mechanical unfolding. We tested this hypothesis by studying the mechanical properties of a panel of pseudoknots with frameshifting efficiencies ranging from 2% to 30%: four pseudoknots from retroviruses, two from luteoviruses, one from a coronavirus, and a nonframeshifting bacteri

SUBMITTER: Ritchie DB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3479558 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature