Open AccessThe Initiation Codon Affects Ribosome Binding and Translational Efficiency in Escherichia coli of c I mRNA with or without the 5′ Untranslated Leader
Author(s) -
Sean O’donnell,
Gary R. Janssen
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.652
H-Index - 246
eISSN - 1067-8832
pISSN - 0021-9193
DOI - 10.1128/jb.183.4.1277-1283.2001
Subject(s) - ribosomal binding site , start codon , biology , shine dalgarno sequence , five prime untranslated region , messenger rna , untranslated region , translational regulation , eukaryotic translation , translational efficiency , translation (biology) , ribosome , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , gene , rna
Translational efficiency of an AUG, CUG, GUG, or UUG initiation codon was measured for the naturally leaderless cI mRNA from bacteriophage lambda. In a cI-lacZ translational fusion, only AUG supported a high level of expression; GUG supported a low level of expression, while UUG and CUG expression was barely above background levels. Addition of an untranslated lac leader and Shine-Dalgarno sequence to cI increased expression but still showed a dependence on an AUG for maximum expression. cI-lacZ mRNA with an AUG initiation codon showed a greater in vitro ribosome binding strength and a higher level of full-length in vivo mRNA, suggesting that the initiation codon is an important determinant of ribosome binding strength and translational efficiency for mRNA with or without the 5' untranslated leader.