Release factor 2 (RF2), encoded by the prfB gene in Escherichia coli, catalyzes translational termination at UGA and UAA codons. Termination at UGA competes with selenocysteine (Sec) incorporation at Sec-dedicated UGA codons, and RF2 thereby counteracts expression of selenoproteins. prfB is an essential gene in E. coli and can therefore not be removed in order to increase yield of recombinant s...

Stoneflies comprise an ancient group of insects, but the phylogenetic position of Plecoptera and phylogenetic relations within Plecoptera have long been controversial, and more molecular data is required to reconstruct precise phylogeny. Herein, we present the complete mitogenome of a stonefly, Suwallia teleckojensis, which is 16146 bp in length and consists of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2...

Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa is caused by mutations in the COL7A1 gene. The disease characterized clinical heterogeneity. To date, scientific findings allow to evaluate correlations between severity of manifestations and genetic defects underlying development disease. A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed RSCI, keywords including dystrophic bullosa, collagen VII, COL7A1....

The nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) pathway is a specialized pathway that triggers the rapid degradation of select mRNAs. Initially, identified as a pathway that degrades mRNAs with premature termination codons, NMD is now recognized as a pathway that also regulates some natural mRNAs. Since natural mRNAs do not typically contain premature termination codons, these mRNAs contain features tha...

Coptotermes suzhouensis (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) is a significant subterranean termite pest of wooden structures and is widely distributed in southeastern China. The complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of C. suzhouensis was analyzed in this study. The mitogenome was a circular molecule of 15,764 bp in length, which contained 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosom...

Cis-acting mRNA elements that promote programmed -1 ribosomal frameshifting (-1 PRF) redirect a fraction of translating ribosomes into a new reading frame. In viruses, these signals typically direct the translation of alternative protein products from a single mRNA. However, endogenous programmed frameshifts could also direct elongating ribosomes to premature termination codons, in which case t...

Three stop codons in bacteria represent different translation termination signals, and their usage is expected to depend on their differences in translation termination efficiency, mutation bias, and relative abundance of release factors (RF1 decoding UAA and UAG, and RF2 decoding UAA and UGA). In 14 bacterial species (covering Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria and Spiro...

When we peer into the overlooked, underexplored corners of biology, mysterious, unexpected forms of diversity tend to reveal themselves. Our understanding of the workings of life unfolds a little more as a result. A team of researchers from Canada and the Czech Republic recently found that the eukaryote Blastocystis, a common human parasite, shares genetic traits previously known only in mitoch...

A role for rRNA in peptide chain termination was indicated several years ago by isolation of a 168 rRNA (small subunit) mutant of Escherichia coli that suppressed UGA mutations. In this paper, we describe another interesting rRNA mutant, selected as a translational suppressor of the chain-terminating mutant trpA (UGA211) of E. coli. The finding that it suppresses UGA at two positions in trpA an...