Internal ribosome entry site 内部核糖体进入位点
An internal ribosome entry site, abbreviated IRES, is a nucleotide sequence that allows for translation initiation in the middle of a messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence as part of the greater process of protein synthesis. Usually, in eukaryotes, translation can be initiated only at the 5' end of the mRNA molecule, since 5' cap recognition is required for the assembly of the initiation complex. The location for these sites is often in the 5'UTR, but can occur in many different places in an mRNA.