[Regulation of synthesis of ribosomal protein L7-L12: role of intercistronic rplJL region as an enhancer of translation]

Abstract

The ability of the Escherichia coli intercistronic rplJL region to initiate effectively the synthesis of the ribosomal protein L7/12, the only ribosomal component present in the ribosome in four copies rather than in one was studied in vivo and in vitro. It was shown that the structural determinants located upstream from the Shine-Dalgarno sequence and sharing structural motifs with the known E. coli translational enhancers are necessary for high activity of this region in translation initiation. These data indicate that mRNA-protein interactions through the ribosomal S1 protein play an important role in the formation of the initiation complex, and an enhancer region within the leader of the L7/12 mRNA serves as a target for this protein.