Formation
of
the
mRNA
30S
Subunit
Complex - Messenger RNA (mRNA) becomes attached to the 30S ribosomal subunit to form an mRNA 30S complex. This process requires the initiation factor IF-3.Only one molecule of IF-3 binds to each 30S subunit.
It has been suggested that a segment of 16S r RNA in the 30S subunit provides a binding site for IF-3. 16S rRNA is also involved in mRNA binding.
Shine and Dalgarno (1974, 1975) have shown that a nucleotide sequence near the 3' end of 16S rRNA base pairs directly with a complementary sequence in mRNA. mRNA molecules contain a sequence of 3-7 purine nucleotides preceeding the initiation codon AUG.





