Comparative genetics
Systematic discovery of cap-independent translation sequences in human and viral genomes
Shira Weingarten-Gabbay (Weizmann Institute of Science)
Shani Elias-Kirma (Weizmann Institute of Science)
Ronit Nir (Weizmann Institute of Science)
Alexey Gritsenko (Kluyver Centre for Genomics of Industrial Fermentation, TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)
Noam Stern-Ginossar (Technion)
Zohar Yakhini (Technion, Agilent Laboratories)
Adina Weinberger (Weizmann Institute of Science)
Eran Segal (Weizmann Institute of Science)
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Abstract
To investigate gene specificity at the level of translation in both the human genome and viruses, we devised a high-throughput bicistronic assay to quantify cap-independent translation.We uncovered thousands of novel cap-independent translation sequences, and we provide insights on the landscape of translational regulation in both humans and viruses.We find extensive translational elements in the 3? untranslated region of human transcripts and the polyprotein region of uncapped RNA viruses. Through the characterization of regulatory elements underlying cap-independent translation activity, we identify potential mechanisms of secondary structure, short sequence motif, and base pairing with the 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Furthermore, we systematically map the 18S rRNA regions for which reverse complementarity enhances translation. Thus, we make available insights into the mechanisms of translational control in humans and viruses.