reading frame

noun

: a sequence of nucleotide triplets that is potentially translatable into a polypeptide and that is determined by the placement of a codon that initiates translation

Examples of reading frame in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

According to a study published in April 2020, mutations identified in the nonstructural protein NSP6 and open reading frame Orf10 likely prevent autophagosomes from delivering material to the lysosome. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2021

It is synthesized as part of two much longer polypeptides, the product of the initial long open reading frame (orf1a), and from the orf1b, the orf1ab polypeptide. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 4 June 2021

Further mutations to the nucleocapsid protein and open reading frame eight likely increase the virus’s virulence, as similar mutations have been seen in other variants. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2021

For instance, Lanjuan noted a mutation in the open reading frame three at position 251 (G251V). —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

reading frame

noun

read·​ing frame ˈrēd-iŋ- 

: any of the three possible ways of reading a sequence of nucleotides as a series of triplets see open reading frame