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The expression of an increasing number of genes of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic origin has been shown to be regulated at the translational level by programmed (sequence‐specific) ribosomal frame‐shifting. Among these are the bacterial insertion sequences IS1 and two members of the widely distributed IS3‐family, IS150 and IS911. Frameshifting provides a means of specifying several proteins with different functions using a minimum of genetic information. In this review, we survey present understanding of the way in which frameshifting is integrated into the overall control of transposition activity in these elements.