The ATPC RNA motif is a conserved

RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule that is essential for most biological functions, either by performing the function itself (non-coding RNA) or by forming a template for the production of proteins (messenger RNA). RNA and deoxyrib ...

structure found in certain

cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" () refers to their bluish green (cyan) color, which forms the basis of cyanobacteri ...

. It is apparently ubiquitous in '' Prochlorococcus marinus'', and is present in many species in the genus ''

Synechococcus ''Synechococcus'' (from the Greek ''synechos'', in succession, and the Greek ''kokkos'', granule) is a unicellular cyanobacterium that is very widespread in the marine environment. Its size varies from 0.8 to 1.5 μm. The photosynthetic ...

''. The RNA is always found within an

operon In genetics, an operon is a functioning unit of DNA containing a cluster of genes under the control of a single promoter. The genes are transcribed together into an mRNA strand and either translated together in the cytoplasm, or undergo splic ...

encoding subunits of

ATP synthase ATP synthase is an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of the energy storage molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP) using adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphate (Pi). ATP synthase is a molecular machine. The overall reaction catalyzed ...

, and it is always located downstream of the gene encoding the A subunit of ATP synthase, and upstream of the C subunit gene. This location is consistent with a

cis-regulatory element ''Cis''-regulatory elements (CREs) or ''cis''-regulatory modules (CRMs) are regions of non-coding DNA which regulate the transcription of neighboring genes. CREs are vital components of genetic regulatory networks, which in turn control morpho ...

, but also with a

non-coding RNA A non-coding RNA (ncRNA) is a functional RNA molecule that is not Translation (genetics), translated into a protein. The DNA sequence from which a functional non-coding RNA is transcribed is often called an RNA gene. Abundant and functionally imp ...

that is transcribed with the ATP synthase genes. Simple RNA structures called

stem-loop Stem-loops are nucleic acid Biomolecular structure, secondary structural elements which form via intramolecular base pairing in single-stranded DNA or RNA. They are also referred to as hairpins or hairpin loops. A stem-loop occurs when two regi ...

s have been reported in the ATP synthase operons of various cyanobacteria, but not structures such as the 3-stem junction that is the main feature of the ATPC RNA motif.

References

External links

* Cis-regulatory RNA elements Non-coding RNA {{molecular-cell-biology-stub