Conformational Shannon Entropy of mRNA Structures from Force Spectroscopy Measurements Predicts the Efficiency of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mo form="prefix">−</mml:mo><mml:mn>1</mml:mn></mml:math> Programmed Ribosomal Frameshift Stimulation

$\ensuremath{-}1$ programmed ribosomal frameshifting ($\ensuremath{-}1\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{PRF}$) is stimulated by structures in messenger RNA (mRNA), but the factors determining $\ensuremath{-}1\text{ }\mathrm{PRF}$ efficiency are unclear. We show that varies directly with conformational heterogeneity of stimulatory structure, quantified as Shannon entropy state occupancy, for a panel efficiencies from 2% to 80%. The correlation force dependent and vanishes at forces above those applied ribosome. These results support hypothesis heterogeneous dynamics key factor stimulating }\mathrm{PRF}$.