Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA) for the Study of RNA-Protein Interactions: The IRE/IRP Example
Published on: December 3, 2014
Ferritin mRNAs in Schistosoma mansoni do not have iron-responsive elements for post-transcriptional regulation
P Schüssler1, E Pötters, R Winnen
1Institut für Genetik and Biologisch-Medizinisches Forschungszentrum, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Abstract:
Schistosoma mansoni possesses two isoforms of ferritin, soma and yolk ferritin. The soma ferritin occurs at a low level in most cells of both genders, whereas the yolk ferritin is a female-specific gene product that is expressed at high level in the vitellarium. In higher animals, ferritin mRNA is regulated by iron via the interaction of cytoplasmic binding proteins (IRPs) with a specific sequence element in the 5' untranslated region (UTR) referred to as the iron-responsive element (IRE). Sequence studies of the 5' UTRs, gel retardation assays, and hybridization experiments show that neither ferritin mRNAs of S. mansoni is regulated by an IRE/IRP mechanism. It is suggested that ferritins in schistosomes are controlled only at the transcriptional level.
Related Concept Videos
Riboswitches
The aptamer has high specificity for a particular metabolite which allows riboswitches to specifically regulate...
General Transcription Factors
Translation
Translation is the process of synthesizing proteins from the genetic information carried by messenger RNA (mRNA). Following transcription, it constitutes the final step in the expression of genes. This process is carried out by ribosomes, complexes of protein and specialized RNA molecules. Ribosomes, transfer RNA (tRNA), and other proteins produce a chain of amino acids—the polypeptide—as the end product of translation.
Translation Produces the Building Blocks of Life
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps
Transcriptional Regulation: Riboswitches
Translational Regulation

