IRES p150

An internal ribosome entry site, abbreviated IRES, is a nucleotide sequence that allows for translation initiation in the middle of a messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence as part of the greater process of protein synthesis. Usually, in eukaryotes, translation can be initiated only at the 5' end of the mRNA molecule, since 5' cap recognition is required for the assembly of the initiation complex. p150 IRES is a naturally occurring nucleotide sequences that function as internal ribosome entry sites (IRESes) within the 5? leader sequence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae TIF4631 (p150) mRNA (Zhou et al., 2001).