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DNA Reading Frame

A DNA reading frame is a segment that can translate into a single amino acid. It's found three bases at a time, and each triplet sequence codes for a single amino acid.

Because a strand is found in three segments, each with a clear end point, there are six possible reading frames in each one: three read from one direction, and three read from the reverse direction. If the identified reading frame has a start codon and a stop codon, it is called an open reading frame. Open reading frames signify that a gene is somewhere nearby.

The location of open reading frames from the six possible reading frames in any segment are crucial to genetic mapping.

Because the identification of reading frames is relatively simple but tedious due to the lengthy examination of the different codons involved, there are several online tools that will identify reading frames and open reading frames for you from a pre-sequenced strand of DNA.

Web Resources On DNA Reading Frame

Translation and Open Reading Frame Search
Find open reading frames

Book Resources On DNA Reading Frame

Functional Studies of E. Coli Ribosomes and Characterization of Mini Open Reading Frames by Vildan Dincbas
Molecular Biology of the Cell by Bruce Alberts et al

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