Macromolecular mimicry of nucleic acid and protein

Although proteins and nucleic acids consist of different chemical component s, proteins can mimic structures and possibly also functions of nucleic aci ds. Recently, structural mimicry was observed between two elongation factor s in bacterial protein biosynthesis leading to the introduction of the conc ept of macromolecular mimicry. Macromolecular mimicry has further been prop osed among initiation and release factors, thereby adding a new element to the description of protein synthesis in bacteria. Such mimicry has also bee n observed in other biological processes such as autoimmunity, DNA repair, and gene regulation, at both transcriptional and translational levels.