Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 3, 2026

Polysome Fractionation and Analysis of Mammalian Translatomes on a Genome-wide Scale
Published on: May 17, 2014
Assessing the effectiveness of coding and non-coding regions in antisense ribosome inhibition of gene expression in
Mary Ellen Jacobs1, Donnamarie E Cortezzo, Lawrence A Klobutcher
1Department of Molecular, Microbial, and Structural Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06030, USA.
Abstract:
In Tetrahymena thermophila, an "antisense ribosome" technology has been developed for inhibiting gene expression and generating novel mutants. Short segments of genes are inserted in antisense orientation into an rDNA vector in a region corresponding to an external loop of the folded rRNA. DNA segments derived from the 5'-ends of genes have proven most effective in reducing cognate gene expression. To investigate the efficacy of other genic regions, we generated Tetrahymena cell lines with antisense ribosome constructs containing 100-bp DNA segments derived from the 5'-ends, 3'-ends, and internal coding regions of two non-essential genes, granule lattice protein 1 and macronuclear histone H1. The 5'- and 3'-end constructs inhibited gene expression, but antisense ribosomes derived exclusively from coding regions had little effect.
Related Concept Videos
Types of RNA
Three main types of RNA are involved in protein synthesis: messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA). These RNAs perform diverse functions and can be broadly classified as protein-coding or non-coding RNA. Non-coding RNAs play important roles in the regulation of gene expression in response to developmental and environmental changes. Non-coding RNAs in prokaryotes can be manipulated to develop more effective antibacterial drugs for human or animal use.
RNA...
Riboswitches
The aptamer has high specificity for a particular metabolite which allows riboswitches to specifically regulate...
Ribosome Profiling
Applications of ribosome profiling
Ribosome profiling has many applications, including in vivo monitoring of translation inside a particular organ or tissue type and quantifying new protein synthesis levels.
The technique helps...
Prokaryotic Gene Structure and Organization

