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Updated: Mar 2, 2026

Xenopus laevis as a Model to Identify Translation Impairment
Published on: September 27, 2015
Noncanonical Translation Initiation Comes of Age
Paul Babitzke1, Michael O'Connor2
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA pxb28@psu.edu oconnormi@umkc.edu.
Abstract:
The canonical translation initiation mechanism involves base pairing between the mRNA and 16S rRNA. However, a variety of identified mechanisms deviate from this conventional route. Beck and Janssen (J Bacteriol 199:e00091-17, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1128/JB.00091-17) have recently described another noncanonical mode of translation initiation. Here, we describe how this process differs from previously reported mechanisms, with the hope that it will foster increased awareness of the diversity of regulatory mechanisms that await discovery.
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