The small (40S) subunit of eukaryotic ribosomes is believed to bind initially at the capped 5'-end of messenger RNA and then migrate, stopping at the first AUG codon in a favorable context for initiating translation. The first-AUG rule is not absolute, but there are rules for breaking the rule. Some anomalous observations that seemed to contradict the scanning mechanism now appear to be artifacts. A few genuine anomalies remain unexplained.

/pdf/the-scanning-model-for-translation-an-update-52r2in8l71.pdf

The scanning model for translation: an update.

https://www.cell.com/neuron/pdf/0896-6273(90)90106-P.pdf

The regulation and function of c-fos and other immediate early genes in the nervous system.

The zinc finger DNA-binding motif occurs in many proteins that regulate eukaryotic gene expression. The crystal structure of a complex containing the three zinc fingers from Zif268 (a mouse immediate early protein) and a consensus DNA-binding site has been determined at 2.1 angstroms resolution and refined to a crystallographic R factor of 18.2 percent. In this complex, the zinc fingers bind in the major groove of B-DNA and wrap part way around the double helix. Each finger has a similar relation to the DNA and makes its primary contacts in a three-base pair subsite. Residues from the amino-terminal portion of an alpha helix contact the bases, and most of the contracts are made with the guanine-rich strand of the DNA. This structure provides a framework for understanding how zinc fingers recognize DNA and suggests that this motif may provide a useful basis for the design of novel DNA-binding proteins.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/252/5007/809.full.pdf

Zinc finger-DNA recognition: crystal structure of a Zif268-DNA complex at 2.1 A.

Isolation and characterization of a zinc finger polypeptide gene at the human chromosome 11 Wilms' tumor locus.

TIS10, a phorbol ester tumor promoter-inducible mRNA from Swiss 3T3 cells, encodes a novel prostaglandin synthase/cyclooxygenase homologue

https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/0092-8674(88)90485-0.pdf

Eileen D. Adamson

Papers

A zinc finger-encoding gene coregulated with c-fos during growth and differentiation, and after cellular depolarization