title: Bacteriophage T4 regA protein binds to mRNAs and prevents translation initiation.
abstract: The bacteriophage T4 regA protein is a translational repressor of a subset of phage mRNAs. We show here that purified regA protein binds specifically to target mRNAs near the initiating AUG and occludes binding of ribosomes. Translational repression by regA protein diminishes expression of many genes whose mRNA sequences around the initiating AUG codons are different. A comparison of nucleotide sequences from several regA-repressed mRNAs suggests that the initiating AUG is an important, but not sufficient, sequence for regA binding.
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003062:Codon / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000378:metabolism*; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D013604:T-Phages / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D003062:Codon; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012367:RNA, Viral; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins