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Non‐AUG translation initiation of mRNA encoding acidic ribosomal P2A protein in Candida albicans
Author(s) -
Abramczyk Dariusz,
Tchórzewski Marek,
Grankowski Nikodem
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
yeast
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.923
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1097-0061
pISSN - 0749-503X
DOI - 10.1002/yea.1020
Subject(s) - biology , open reading frame , ribosomal protein , gene , genetics , ribosomal rna , intron , candida albicans , eukaryotic small ribosomal subunit , microbiology and biotechnology , peptide sequence , translation (biology) , messenger rna , ribosome , rna
The eukaryotic 60S ribosomal subunit has a set of very acidic proteins (P‐proteins), which form a distinct lateral protuberance called the stalk structure. This protein complex is directly involved in the elongation step of polypeptide synthesis. In our study on acidic ribosomal P‐proteins from the human opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans , we isolated and characterized one of the genes, called CARP2A , and its product, the P2A protein. The CARP2A gene is intron‐less, present in a single copy per haploid genome, and transcriptionally active. The open reading frame of the studied gene contains information for a sequence of 108 amino acids. Based on this, the molecular mass and isoelectric point of the P2A protein were theoretically calculated to be 10.85 kDa and 3.7, respectively. The characteristic feature of the CARP2A gene transcript is the presence of a GUG start codon, which is rare in eukaryotic organisms and not previously reported in yeast. To our knowledge this is the first report showing the presence of a naturally occurring non‐AUG start codon on mRNA in yeast species. The nucleotide sequence of CARP2A has been deposited in the GenBank data library under Accession No. AF317661. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.