Fig. 4.
Frameshifting efficiency is not correlated with mechanical stability parameters. The (A) average unfolding force, (B) unfolding rate at zero force, koff, (C) distance to the transition state, Δx‡, and (D) height of the energy barrier, ΔG‡, were determined from the unfolding force distributions (as in Fig. 3) and fits to Eq. 1. All quantities are effectively constant as a function of −1 PRF efficiency of the pseudoknot, indicating that there is no correlation, and hence mechanical stability is not a primary determinant of −1 PRF efficiency. Error bars in the ordinate represent standard error; errors in the −1 PRF efficiency are an estimate of the variability in the values from the literature.