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Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Depletion of Ribosomal RNA for Mosquito Gut Metagenomic RNA-seq
Published on: April 7, 2013
Small synthetic molecule-stabilized RNA pseudoknot as an activator for -1 ribosomal frameshifting
Saki Matsumoto1, Neva Caliskan2, Marina V Rodnina3
1Department of Regulatory Bioorganic Chemistry, The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (ISIR), Osaka University, 8-1 Mihogaoka, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047, Japan.
Abstract:
Programmed -1 ribosomal frameshifting (-1PRF) is a recoding mechanism to make alternative proteins from a single mRNA transcript. -1PRF is stimulated by cis-acting signals in mRNA, a seven-nucleotide slippery sequence and a downstream secondary structure element, which is often a pseudoknot. In this study we engineered the frameshifting pseudoknot from the mouse mammary tumor virus to respond to a rationally designed small molecule naphthyridine carbamate tetramer (NCTn). We demonstrate that NCTn can stabilize the pseudoknot structure in mRNA and activate -1PRF both in vitro and in human cells. The results illustrate how NCTn-inducible -1PRF may serve as an important component of the synthetic biology toolbox for the precise control of gene expression using small synthetic molecules.
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