Translation initiation factor IF 3

In molecular biology, translation initiation factor IF-3 (gene infC) is one of the three factors required for the initiation of protein biosynthesis in bacteria. IF-3 is thought to function as a fidelity factor during the assembly of the ternary initiation complex which consists of the 30S ribosomal subunit, the initiator tRNA and the messenger RNA. IF-3 is a basic protein that binds to the 30S ribosomal subunit. The chloroplast initiation factor IF-3(chl) is a protein that enhances the poly(A,U,G)-dependent binding of the initiator tRNA to chloroplast ribosomal 30s subunits in which the central section is evolutionary related to the sequence of bacterial IF-3.