Effect of the sequence context of the AUG initiation codon on the rate of translation in dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plant cells.

The sequence context around the AUG initiation codon strongly contributes to the translation initiation step in mammalian and plant cells. Here, we investigated the effect of the three nucleotides immediately upstream of the initiating AUG (positions -3 to -1) on the translation efficiency of a reporter gene, beta-glucuronidase, in dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plant cells.

The 5'-untranslated region of the Oryza sativa alcohol dehydrogenase gene functions as a translational enhancer in monocotyledonous plant cells.

The 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) functions as a translational enhancer in monocotyledonous plant cells is necessary to express a foreign gene efficiently. Here, we show that the 5'-UTR of the rice alcohol dehydrogenase gene contributes to efficient translation in not only dicotyledonous plant cells, but also in monocotyledonous rice cells.