An evolutionary conserved pattern of 18S rRNA sequence complementarity to mRNA 5′ UTRs and its implications for eukaryotic gene translation regulation

There are several key mechanisms regulating eukaryotic gene expression at the level of protein synthesis. Interestingly, the least explored mechanisms of translational control are those that involve the translating ribosome per se, mediated for example via predicted interactions between the ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) and mRNAs. Here, we took advantage of robustly growing large-scale data sets of mRNA sequences for numerous organisms, solved ribosomal structures and computational power to computationally explore the mRNA–rRNA complementarity that is statistically significant across the species. Our predictions reveal highly specific sequence complementarity of 18S rRNA sequences with mRNA 5′ untranslated regions (UTRs) forming a well-defined 3D pattern on the rRNA sequence of the 40S subunit. Broader evolutionary conservation of this pattern may imply that 5′ UTRs of eukaryotic mRNAs, which have already emerged from the mRNA-binding channel, may contact several complementary spots on 18S rRNA situated near the exit of the mRNA binding channel and on the middle-to-lower body of the solvent-exposed 40S ribosome including its left foot. We discuss physiological significance of this structurally conserved pattern and, in the context of previously published experimental results, propose that it modulates scanning of the 40S subunit through 5′ UTRs of mRNAs.