Analysis of Genetic Translation using Signal Processing

Abstract

A series of free energy estimates can be calculated from the ribosome's progressive interaction with mRNA sequences during the process of translation elongation in eubacteria. A sinusoidal pattern of roughly constant phase has been detected in these free energy signals. Frameshifts of the +1 type occur when the ribosome skips an mRNA base in the 5'-3' direction, and can be associated with local phase-shifts in the free energy signal. We propose a mathematical model that captures the mechanism of frameshift based on the information content of the signal parameters and the relative abundance of tRNA in the bacterial cell. The model shows how translational speed can modulate translational accuracy to accomplish programmed +1 frameshifts and could have implications for the regulation of translational efficiency. Results are presented using experimentally verified frameshift genes across eubacteria.