Do "antisense proteins" exist?
A DNA double helix consists of two complementary strands antiparallel with each other. One of them is the sense chain, while the other is an antisense chain which does not directly involve the protein-encoding process. The reason that an antisense chain cannot encode for a protein is generally attributed to the lack of certain preconditions such as a promotor and some necessary sequence segments. Suppose it were provided with all these preconditions, could an antisense chain encode for an "antisense protein"? To answer this question, an analysis has been performed based on the existing database. Nine proteins have been found that have a 100% sequence match with the hypothetical antisense proteins derived from the known Escherichia coli antisense chains.
Chou
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KC
Upjohn Laboratories, Pharmacia * Upjohn Inc., Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007-4940, USA.
Zhang
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CT
Elrod
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DW
D001483:Base Sequence; D018388:Codon, Terminator / Q000235:genetics; D016373:DNA, Antisense / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000737:chemistry*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D017421:Sequence Analysis
D018388:Codon, Terminator; D016373:DNA, Antisense; D011506:Proteins