The ''ilvH'' 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 that was discovered by bioinformatics. ''ilvH'' motifs are found in

Betaproteobacteria ''Betaproteobacteria'' are a class of Gram-negative bacteria, and one of the six classes of the phylum '' Pseudomonadota'' (synonym Proteobacteria). Metabolism The ''Betaproteobacteria'' comprise over 75 genera and 400 species. Together, they ...

. ''ilvH'' motif RNAs likely function as

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 ...

s, in view of their positions upstream of protein-coding

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

s. Specifically, the RNAs are upstream of genes that encode a predicted

acetolactate synthase The acetolactate synthase (ALS) enzyme (also known as acetohydroxy acid or acetohydroxyacid synthase, abbr. AHAS) is a protein found in plants and micro-organisms. ALS catalyzes the first step in the synthesis of the branched-chain amino acids ...

, which is involved in the synthesis of

branched-chain amino acid A branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) is an amino acid having an aliphatic substituent, side-chain with a branch (a central carbon atom bound to three or more carbon atoms). Among the proteinogenic amino acids, there are three BCAAs: leucine, isoleu ...

References

{{reflist Non-coding RNA