[Annotation] function annotation for leader peptide

[Ingrid Keseler]

Hi everyone,

Some of us at EcoCyc were just wondering what molecular function term 
one would use to annotate a leader peptide.  I'm not talking about 
leader peptides for membrane insertion or export, but the small open 
reading frames that are involved in transcription attenuation, where the 
stalled translation of a leader peptide allows continued transcription 
of an operon containing genes that encode enzymes of an amino acid 
biosynthesis pathway, and non-stalled translation leads to formation of 
a transcription terminator.  The paradigm is the trp operon in E. coli.

The appropriate process term is GO:0031556, but what would be a good 
function term?  Clearly that leader peptide, or more precisely, the 
process of translating the leader peptide, has a regulatory function.  
Annotating it to transcription regulator activity feels somewhat 
unsatisfying, though.  Would it be useful to have a new term under 
GO:0030528 for leader peptides?

Thanks,
Ingrid