The Regulatory Function of Poly(A) and Adjacent 3' Sequences in Translated RNA

Uriel Z. Littauer, Hermona Soreq

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

61 Scopus citations

Abstract

This chapter discusses the regulatory function of Poly(A) and adjacent 3' sequences in translated ribonucleic acids (RNAs). Messenger RNA chains from various biological sources contain, in addition to coding sequences, regions located at the 3' and 5' termini that are not translated. The nontranslated region at the 3' terminus is followed by a poly(A) segment of varying length. The chapter describes the properties and the possible regulatory functions of the nontranslated sequences and the poly(A) region located at the 3' termini of the RNA molecules. The poly(A) tails of various mRNAs are essentially similar in sequence and structure, and yet they seem to differ in their roles. Therefore, the difference among the stabilizing effects that these poly(A) tails confer on different mRNA species must be hidden elsewhere along the mRNA molecule. Also, the poly(A)-binding protein has a high affinity for binding sites in the nontranslated 3' sequence adjacent to the poly(A) segment. The chapter suggests that the role of the poly(A) tail is to stabilize translatable RNA chains by binding specific protein(s), provided that the properties of the adjacent 3' sequence favor such binding. The chapter describes the structure and function of 3'-terminal sequences in viral RNA. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the role of noncoding 3' sequences in translation and functional stability of mRNA.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)53-83
Number of pages31
JournalProgress in Nucleic Acid Research and Molecular Biology
Volume27
Issue numberC
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 1982
Externally publishedYes

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