Expression cassette
The term expression cassette describes a DNA segment that is responsible for the synthesis of an RNA . Such a "cassette" consists of the following elements:
- Promoter (essential for starting the transcription of DNA into RNA)
- Ribosome binding site ( if a protein is to be produced as the end product , the associated mRNA must have a binding site for protein biosynthesis )
- Protein coding sequence (if a protein is to be produced as the end product, the RNA must have a start codon, a coding sequence and a stop codon for protein synthesis)
- Terminator (causes the transcription of DNA to RNA to stop)
With the exception of the promoter, all the above-mentioned elements can be dispensed with in the artificial construction if they are not necessary for the corresponding product. However, an expression cassette cannot be produced without a promoter.
literature
- GP Rédei: Encyclopedia of Genetics, Genomics, Proteomics, and Informatics. Springer, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-1-402-06755-6 , p. 2202.