A series of free energy estimates can be calculated from the ribosome's progressive interaction with mRNA sequences during the process of translation elongation in eubacteria. A sinusoidal pattern of roughly constant phase has been detected in these free energy signals. Frameshifts of the +1 type occur when the ribosome skips an mRNA base in the 5'-3' direction, and can be associated with local phase-shifts in the free energy signal. We propose a mathematical model that captures the mechanism of frameshift based on the information content of the signal parameters and the relative abundance of tRNA in the bacterial cell. The model shows how translational speed can modulate translational accuracy to accomplish programmed +1 frameshifts and could have implications for the regulation of translational efficiency. Results are presented using experimentally verified frameshift genes across eubacteria.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NCSU/oai:NCSU:etd-02072007-174200 |
| Date | 15 February 2007 |
| Creators | Ponnala, Lalit |
| Contributors | Donald L. Bitzer, Winser E. Alexander, Mladen A. Vouk, Anne-Marie Stomp, Tiffany M. Barnes, Jeffrey L. Thorne |
| Publisher | NCSU |
| Source Sets | North Carolina State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-02072007-174200/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dis sertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to NC State University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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