title: Signals for ribosomal frameshifting in the Rous sarcoma virus gag-pol region.
abstract: The gag-pol protein of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV), the precursor to the enzymes responsible for reverse transcription and integration, is expressed from two genes that lie in different translational reading frames by ribosomal frameshifting. Here, we localize the site of frameshifting and show that the frameshifting reaction is mediated by slippage of two adjacent tRNAs by a single nucleotide in the 5' direction. The gag terminator, which immediately follows the frameshift site, is not required for frameshifting. Other suspected retroviral frameshift sites mediate frameshifting when placed at the end of RSV gag. Mutations in RSV pol also affect synthesis of the gag-pol protein in vitro. The effects of these mutations best correlate with the potential to form an RNA stem-loop structure adjacent to the frameshift site. A short sequence of RSV RNA, 147 nucleotides in length, containing the frameshift site and stem-loop structure, is sufficient to direct frameshifting in a novel genetic context.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco 94143.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jacks
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Madhani
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Masiarz
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Varmus
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001358:Avian Sarcoma Viruses / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D015683:Gene Products, gag; D005814:Genes, Viral; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012356:RNA, Transfer, Leu / Q000235:genetics; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D012191:Retroviridae Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015683:Gene Products, gag; D012356:RNA, Transfer, Leu; D012367:RNA, Viral; D012191:Retroviridae Proteins