PrfA thermoregulator UTR

The PrfA thermoregulator UTR is an RNA thermometer found in the 5' UTR of the prfA gene.^[1] In Listeria monocytogenes, virulence genes are maximally expressed at 37 °C (human body temperature) but are almost silent at 30 °C.^[2] The genes are controlled by PrfA, a transcriptional activator whose expression is thermoregulated.^[3] It has been shown that the untranslated mRNA (UTR) preceding prfA, forms a secondary structure, which masks the ribosome binding region.^[1] It is thought that at 37 °C, the hairpin structure 'melts' and the SD sequence is unmasked.^[1]

PrfA thermoregulator UTR
Predicted secondary structure and sequence conservation of PrfA
Identifiers
Symbol	PrfA
Rfam	RF00038
Other data
RNA type	Cis-reg; thermoregulator
Domain(s)	Bacteria
SO	SO:0000233
PDB structures	PDBe