2A peptides

[1][2] These peptides share a core sequence motif of DxExNPGP, and are found in a wide range of viral families.

Four members of 2A peptides family are frequently used in life science research.

Adding the optional linker “GSG” (Gly-Ser-Gly) on the N-terminal of a 2A peptide helps with efficiency.

[7][8] However, it is believed to involve ribosomal "skipping" of glycyl-prolyl peptide bond formation rather than true proteolytic cleavage.

[9][10] In molecular biology, 2A peptides are used to express two separate proteins from a single open-reading frame.

An illustration of 2A peptide function: when the CDS of a 2A peptide is inserted between two coding sequences, the peptide will be translated into two unbound proteins, due to ribosome skipping (i.e. not due to cleavage as shown in the figure).