The role of RNA structure in translational regulation by L7Ae protein in archaea

Cartoon showing the probable mechanism of regulation of translation by the binding of L7Ae to the 5′-UTR leader sequence. In the absence of the protein, the RNA is unstructured and the Shine–Dalgarno sequence (SD, black) is accessible, allowing translation to initiate. On binding L7Ae the stem–loop forms, stabilized by protein-k-turn binding. The Shine–Dalgarno sequence is now incorporated into the C-helix of the k-turn and thus occluded so that translation cannot be initiated.