January 24, 1997
View Full PapereIF4G--A Multipurpose Ribosome Adapter?
Key Result
The eIF4G protein serves as a central adapter that binds the small ribosome subunit to messenger RNA, functioning differently depending on the presence of a 5' cap or 3' polyadenylated tail.
Abstract
Messenger RNAs are translated into protein—a complex enterprise. Now, in work from a number of laboratories, one small adapter protein is shown to be a central player in several variations on the process. In his Perspective, Hentze describes how eIF4G serves as an adapter that binds the small ribosome subunit to the messenger RNA, working in different ways when the message has a 7 mG cap at its 5 ' end or a polyadenylated tail at its 3 ' end.