IMES-4 RNA motif

The IMES-4 RNA motif is a conserved RNA structure that was identified in marine environmental sequences by metagenomics and bioinformatics.[1] These RNAs are present in environmental sequences, and as of 2009 are not known to be present in any cultivated species. IMES-4 RNAs are fairly abundant in comparison to ribosomes[1] in RNAs sampled from the Pacific Ocean.[2][3]

Consensus secondary structure of IMES-4 RNAs. This figure is adapted from supplementary data of a previous publication.[1]

References

1. Weinberg Z, Perreault J, Meyer MM, Breaker RR (December 2009). "Exceptional structured noncoding RNAs revealed by bacterial metagenome analysis". Nature. 462 (7273): 656–659. doi:10.1038/nature08586. PMC 4140389. PMID 19956260.
2. Frias-Lopez J, Shi Y, Tyson GW, et al. (March 2008). "Microbial community gene expression in ocean surface waters". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105 (10): 3805–3810. doi:10.1073/pnas.0708897105. PMC 2268829. PMID 18316740.
3. ">Shi Y, Tyson GW, DeLong EF (May 2009). "Metatranscriptomics reveals unique microbial small RNAs in the ocean's water column". Nature. 459 (7244): 266–269. doi:10.1038/nature08055. PMID 19444216.