Alternative initiation of translation in Escherichia coli

grantor: University of TorontoIn 'Escherichia coli', initiation of translation for mRNAs is known to be promoted by the binding of the 3' end of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) to a purine rich sequence (known as Shine-Dalgarno sequence, SD) 5' to the initiator codon (AUG). Using an 'E. coli' expression system we have proposed the presence of alternative sites (loops 2 and 3, and nucleotides 458-467) on the 16S rRNA capable of binding functional mRNAs. We have also shown that the 5' untranslated regions of clover yellow mosaic virus and papaya mosaic virus RNA genomes are both capable of initiating translation in 'E. coli'.M.Sc