Translational introns: an additional regulatory element in gene expression.
The linear expression of a gene can be interrupted by the well-known RNA introns and the recently discovered protein introns. In both cases, splicing mechanisms physically excise the unexpressed segments. In this article we describe a third category of introns that we call 'translational introns'. These functional introns are not excised through a splicing mechanism; instead, the translational machinery bypasses a segment of the coding sequence of an mRNA. We suggest that 'translational introns' are part of a regulatory mechanism that may sense changes in the rate of translation and thereby control the ratio of alternative gene products.
Engelberg-Kulka
H
H
Department of Molecular Biology, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
Benhar
I
I
Schoulaker-Schwarz
R
R
D001483:Base Sequence; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics
D012333:RNA, Messenger