ORF
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Genetics
| Stands for | Open reading frame |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
ORF stands for Open reading frame, a genetics abbreviation.
Stretch of DNA or RNA that begins with a start codon and runs without interruption to a stop codon, so it could be translated into a protein. Gene-finding programs scan genomes for long ORFs as candidate genes.
Example: The viral genome contains 11 ORFs, including one overlapping another in a different frame.
Usage notes
DNA can be read in six possible frames, three on each strand. Most ORFs begin with ATG (AUG in RNA) and end with TAA, TAG or TGA. Short ORFs under about 100 codons were long ignored but some are now known to encode functional micropeptides.
Related abbreviations
More genetics abbreviations
- Mb – Megabase
- miRNA – MicroRNA
- mtDNA – Mitochondrial DNA
- ncRNA – Non-coding RNA
- NGS – Next-generation sequencing
- NHEJ – Non-homologous end joining
- PAM – Protospacer adjacent motif
- PRS – Polygenic risk score
- QTL – Quantitative trait locus
- RFLP – Restriction fragment length polymorphism
- RNA-seq – RNA sequencing
- RNAi – RNA interference