title: Preferential initiation at the second AUG of the measles virus F mRNA: a role for the long untranslated region.
abstract: In the measles virus fusion (F) mRNA, a 574-bases-long untranslated region (UTR), is followed by three clustered AUGs at codon positions 1 (AUG1), 4 (AUG2), and 15 (AUG3). We established that only translation initiation on AUG1 or AUG2 leads to the synthesis of functional F proteins. In the presence of the UTR translation initiation occurs almost exclusively at AUG2. In its absence, the ribosomes initiate also from AUG1 or AUG3.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Molekularbiologie Abteilung I, Universität Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cathomen
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Buchholz
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Spielhofer
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D018387:Codon, Initiator / Q000235:genetics*; D006031:Glycosylation; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008459:Measles virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010441:Peptide Chain Elongation, Translational / Q000502:physiology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D018911:Trinucleotide Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018387:Codon, Initiator; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012367:RNA, Viral; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins