title: Translation initiation by non-AUG codons in Arabidopsis thaliana transgenic plants.
abstract: The efficiency of translation initiation at codons differing at one or two nucleotides from AUG was tested as initiation codons for the phosphinotricin-acetyltransferase gene in T-DNA plant transformation in Arabidopsis thaliana. With the exception of UUA codon that differs from AUG at two nucleotides and does not permit any detectable activity, all the other codons (AUC, GUG, ACG, and CUG) present a phosphinotrycin acetyltransferase activity that varies between 5 and 10% of the AUG activity. This low activity is sufficient to confer glufosinate resistance to some of the plants. These results indicate that, in plants as is the case in animals, non-AUG initiating codons may be used for translation initiation, namely when a low expression rate is needed.
authors.affiliation: UMR 6547 CNRS GEEM-BIOMOVE, Université Blaise Pascal, 24 avenue des Landais, 63177 Aubière, France. Annie.DEPEIGES@univ-bpclermont.fr
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Depeiges
authors.forename: Fabienne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Degroote
authors.forename: Marie Claude
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Espagnol
authors.forename: Georges
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Picard
mesh_terms: D000123:Acetyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism; D000613:Aminobutyrates / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics*; D018387:Codon, Initiator / Q000235:genetics*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D010442:Peptide Chain Initiation, Translational / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D036226:Seedlings / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000613:Aminobutyrates; D018387:Codon, Initiator; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C036483:T-DNA; C003121:phosphinothricin; D000123:Acetyltransferases