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. 1980 Sep 19;609(2):343-6.
doi: 10.1016/0005-2787(80)90246-4.

AUG is the only initiation codon in eukaryotes

F Sherman, G McKnight, J W Stewart

AUG is the only initiation codon in eukaryotes

F Sherman et al. Biochim Biophys Acta. .

Abstract

An analysis of mutants of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae indicates that AUG is the sole codon capable of initiating translation of iso-1-cytochrome c. This result with yeast and the sequence results of numerous eukaryotic genes indicate that AUG is the only initiation codon in eukaryotes; in contrast, results with Escherichia coli and bacteriophages indicate that both AUG and GUG are initiation codons in prokaryotes. The difference can be explained by the lack of the t6 A hypermodified nucleoside (N-[9-(beta-D-ribofuranosyl)purin-6-ylcarbamoyl]threonine) in prokaryotic initiator tRNA and its presence in eukaryotic initiator tRNA.

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