Two cis-acting signals, a slippery heptamer X XXY YYZ (the incoming reading frame indicated) and a downstream secondary structure, direct the slippage and are therefore essential for this event (9) . À1 PRF takes place after the accommodation step in the slippery sequence by simultaneous slippage of both tRNAs into the overlapping À1 frame XXX YYY (9, 10) . The sequence of the heptamer allows postslippage base-pairing between the non-wobble bases of the tRNAs and the new À1 frame codons of the mRNA. Downstream RNA secondary structures [reviewed in (11) ] force the ribosomes to pause, and place the ribosomal A-and P-sites correctly over the slippery sequence (12) . However, the pausing of the ribosomes is not sufficient for À1 PRF to occur (13) ; in fact, the duration of the halt does not necessarily correlate with the level of the À1 PRF observed (12) . Crystallographic, molecular, biochemical and genetic studies suggest that a pseudoknot restricts the movement of the mRNA during the tRNA accommodation step of elongation by filling the entrance of the ribosomal mRNA tunnel (14) . This restriction can be eased either by unwinding the pseudoknot, which allows the mRNA to move forward, or by a slippage of the mRNA one nucleotide backwards. Chemical agents such as *To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +358 9 19158342 ; Fax: +358 9 19158633; Email: kristiina.makinen@helsinki.fi ª The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.