2022/05/09 by Dmitry E. Andreev, Gary Loughran, Alla D. Fedorova +3 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms #RNA Research and Splicing #RNA modifications and cancer
paper · pdf · doi:10.1186/s13059-022-02674-2
openalex publication_date 2022/05/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Recent proteogenomic studies revealed extensive translation outside of annotated protein coding regions, such as non-coding RNAs and untranslated regions of mRNAs. This non-canonical translation is largely due to start codon plurality within the same RNA. This plurality is often due to the failure of some scanning ribosomes to recognize potential start codons leading to initiation downstream-a process termed leaky scanning. Codons other than AUG (non-AUG) are particularly leaky due to their inefficiency. Here we discuss our current understanding of non-AUG initiation. We argue for a near-ubiquitous role of non-AUG initiation in shaping the dynamic composition of mammalian proteomes.