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Abstract : |
In this study, we discover a +1 programmed ribosomal frameshifting in a human C2H2 zinc finger (C2H2-ZNF) gene after testing total 226 C2H2-ZNF genes in Human Chromosome 19 through using an original combination of standard computational tools. Our evidences are as follows: Firstly, this zinc finger gene, denoted Z3-7, has significant C2H2-ZNF domains (e-value<0.05) in its two ORFs in different reading frames. Secondly, the two ORFs are overlapped, with a common promoter, a common transcription start site, but with different start codons, different Kozak patterns, different PolyA sites and different PolyA signals. Thirdly, in the mRNA of this gene, we found a significant pseudoknot and a likely frameshifting sites UUUCCU, five upstream nucleotides before this pseudoknot; Moreover, each of the two ORFs of Z3-7 significantly matches two reading frames of seven human C2H2-ZNF ESTs (e-value<10 20 ) and of three human C2H2-ZNF cDNAs (e-value<10 30) that correspond to human C2H2-ZNF proteins. More importantly, each of the two ORFs of Z3-7 significantly matches human C2H2-ZNF proteins (e-value<10 30). These facts indicate that each of the two ORFs of Z3-7 could be transcribed and translated in vivo and that the ribosomal frameshifting of Z3-7 is likely efficient. The present discovery would be helpful for deeper understanding of the regulatory mechanism of a gene with tandem repetitive domains and should have potential to understand and cure diseases caused by abnormality in such transcription factors as C2H2-ZNF proteins., |
