Date of Award
Spring 2026
Language
English
Embargo Period
5-10-2028
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
College/School/Department
Department of Biological Sciences
Program
Biology
First Advisor
Gabrielle Fuchs
Committee Members
Cara Pager, Hannah Shorrock, Thomas Begley
Keywords
programmed ribosomal frameshifting, noncanonical initiation
Subject Categories
Biology | Laboratory and Basic Science Research | Virology
Abstract
Programmed ribosomal frameshifting (PRF) is a process where the ribosome is stimulated by the RNA sequence to change into a different reading frame, resulting in a protein product with an alternative C-terminus. Many viruses and several cellular RNAs use PRF to express variant proteins through bypassing a stop codon. Typically, frameshifting stimulatory elements (FSEs) in cellular RNAs trigger +1 frameshifting, while those in viral RNAs cause -1 frameshifting. Because PRF is promoted by pauses in translation that increase the likelihood of tRNA realignment, we hypothesized that the rate of translation initiation may impact frameshifting efficiency. To test this hypothesis, we assayed the frameshifting efficiency of a firefly luciferase-SARS-CoV-2 FSE-NanoLuciferase reporter under different modes of initiation and in the presence or absence of cellular stress. Our results show this reporter system can be used successfully to examine this relationship, and that initiation mode may impact stop codon recognition and frameshifting efficiency.
License
This work is licensed under the University at Albany Standard Author Agreement.
Recommended Citation
Corwin, Evan M., "Investigating the Relationship Between Translation Initiation and Frameshifting Efficiency" (2026). Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present). 454.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etd/454