Eukaryotic mRNAs encoding abundant and scarce proteins are statistically dissimilar in many structural features

• Published in: FEBS letters Vol. 440; no. 3; pp. 351 - 355
• Main Authors: Kochetov, Alex V, Ischenko, Igor V, Vorobiev, Denis G, Kel, Alexander E, Babenko, Vladimir N, Kisselev, Lev L, Kolchanov, Nikolay A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier B.V 04.12.1998
• Subjects: 5' Untranslated Regions - chemistry; 5′ Untranslated region; Base Composition; Codon, Initiator; Codon, Terminator; Context effect; Databases, Factual; Electronic Data Processing; Eukaryotic Cells; Eukaryotic mRNA; Exp, expected; H-mRNA and L-mRNA, eukaryotic mRNAs encoding highly abundant and scarce proteins, respectively; Mathematical Computing; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Obs, observed; Proteins - genetics; RNA, Messenger - chemistry; Software; Statistical analysis; Translational efficiency; UTR, untranslated region of mRNA; Translational efficiency; Statistical analysis; Eukaryotic mRNA; Context effect; H-mRNA and L-mRNA, eukaryotic mRNAs encoding highly abundant and scarce proteins, respectively; 5′ Untranslated region; Exp, expected; Obs, observed; UTR, untranslated region of mRNA
• ISSN: 0014-5793; 1873-3468
• DOI: 10.1016/S0014-5793(98)01482-3

It is well known that non-coding mRNA sequences are dissimilar in many structural features. For individual mRNAs correlations were found for some of these features and their translational efficiency. However, no systematic statistical analysis was undertaken to relate protein abundance and structural characteristics of mRNA encoding the given protein. We have demonstrated that structural and contextual features of eukaryotic mRNAs encoding high- and low-abundant proteins differ in the 5′ untranslated regions (UTR). Statistically, 5′ UTRs of low-expression mRNAs are longer, their guanine plus cytosine content is higher, they have a less optimal context of the translation initiation codons of the main open reading frames and contain more frequently upstream AUG than 5′ UTRs of high-expression mRNAs. Apart from the differences in 5′ UTRs, high-expression mRNAs contain stronger termination signals. Structural features of low- and high-expression mRNAs are likely to contribute to the yield of their protein products.