Frameshifting dynamics
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 11, 2026

New Variations for Strategy Set-shifting in the Rat
Published on: January 23, 2017
Ignacio Tinoco1, Hee-Kyung Kim, Shannon Yan
1Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1460.
Abstract:
Translation of messenger RNA by a ribosome occurs three nucleotides at a time from start signal to stop. However, a frameshift means that some nucleotides are read twice or some are skipped, and the following sequence of amino acids is completely different from the sequence in the original frame. In some messenger RNAs, including viral RNAs, frameshifting is programmed with RNA signals to produce specific ratios of proteins vital to the replication of the organism. The mechanisms that cause frameshifting have been studied for many years, but there are no definitive conclusions. We review ribosome structure and dynamics in relation to frameshifting dynamics provided by classical ensemble studies, and by new single-molecule methods using optical tweezers and FRET.
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