[1] They were used as an autoregulatory mechanism to control the concentration of ribosomal proteins S15.

The structure is located in the 5′ untranslated regions of mRNAs encoding ribosomal proteins S15 (rpsO).

Multiple distinct structural types of S15 ribosomal protein leaders are known in different organisms.

[3] The secondary structure of his putative ribosomal leader consists of a hairpin in most species.

[3] This suggests that the ribosomal leaders in these organisms function by mimicking the S15 binding site in rRNA.