Strong Eukaryotic IRESs Have Weak Secondary Structure
2009
Weak Secondary Structure in Eukaryotic IRESs
Sample size: 12
publication
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): Xia Xuhua, Holcik Martin
Primary Institution: University of Ottawa
Hypothesis
Eukaryotic Internal Ribosome Entry Sites (IRES) lack secondary structure.
Conclusion
A subset of eukaryotic IRESs exhibits very low secondary structure in the 5′-UTR sequences immediately upstream of the initiation codon.
Supporting Evidence
- IRES activity in yeast correlates strongly with weak secondary structure.
- The reverse complements of identified IRESs have little activity and exhibit stable secondary structure.
- Similar patterns of weak secondary structure were observed in Drosophila IRESs.
Takeaway
Some parts of the RNA that help start protein making in cells don't have a strong shape, which helps them work better.
Methodology
Calculated the minimum folding energy (MFE) of RNA segments to assess secondary structure stability and its correlation with IRES activity.
Limitations
The study could not compare many mammalian IRESs due to diversity in experimental conditions.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.0002
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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