Comparative genomic analysis of translation initiation mechanisms for genes lacking the Shine–Dalgarno sequence in prokaryotes

In prokaryotes, translation initiation is believed to occur through an interaction between the 3' tail of a 16S rRNA and a corresponding Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence in the 5' untranslated region (UTR) of an mRNA. However, some genes lack SD sequences (non-SD genes), and the fraction of non-SD genes in a genome varies depending on the prokaryotic species. To elucidate non-SD translation initiation mechanisms in prokaryotes from an evolutionary perspective, we statistically examined the nucleotide frequencies around the initiation codons in non-SD genes from 260 prokaryotes (235 bacteria and 25 archaea). We identified distinct nucleotide frequency biases upstream of the initiation codon in bacteria and archaea, likely because of the presence of leaderless mRNAs lacking a 5' UTR. Moreover, we observed overall similarities in the nucleotide patterns between upstream and downstream regions of the initiation codon in all examined phyla. Symmetric nucleotide frequency biases might facilitate translation initiation by preventing the formation of secondary structures around the initiation codon. These features are more prominent in species' genomes that harbor large fractions of non-SD sequences, suggesting that a reduced stability around the initiation codon is important for efficient translation initiation in prokaryotes.