Programmed cell death by the hok/sok locus of plasmid R1 relies on a complex translational control mechanism. The highly stable hok mRNA is activated by 3-end exonucleolytical processing. Removal of the mRNA 3 end releases a 5-end sequence that triggers refolding of the mRNA. The refolded hok mRNA is translatable but can also bind the inhibitory Sok antisense RNA. Binding of Sok RNA leads to irreversible mRNA inactivation by an RNase III-dependent mechanism. A coherent model predicts that during transcription hok mRNA must be refractory to translation and antisense RNA binding. Here we provide genetic evidence for the existence of a 5 metastable structure in hok mRNA that locks the nascent transcript in an inactive configuration in vivo. Consistently, the metastable structure reduces the rate of Sok RNA binding and completely blocks hok translation in vitro. Structural analyses of native RNAs strongly support that the 5 metastable structure exists in the nascent transcript. Further structural analyses reveal that the mRNA 3 end triggers refolding of the mRNA 5 end into the more stable tac-stem conformation. These results provide a profound understanding of an unusual and intricate posttranscriptional control mechanism.RNA molecules fold into highly ordered structures essential to their diverse biological functions. Accordingly, the question of how the linear sequence of ribonucleotides dictates the overall folding of an RNA has received much attention (1-6). Folding of RNA, whether occurring from a denatured state or sequentially in concomitance with its synthesis, involves the formation of a number of hierarchically ordered intramolecular interactions leading to increasing levels of structural organization. In both cases, structural rearrangements of kinetically favored folding intermediates may occur before the thermodynamically most stable conformation is reached (7,8). In the course of folding, RNA molecules face the risk of being trapped in nonequilibrium conformations. Because of the high thermodynamic stability of RNA secondary structures, rearrangement of such nonequilibrium conformations can constitute a substantial energy barrier, thus leading to kinetic trapping of the RNA in thermodynamically suboptimal conformations termed metastable structures (9 -11). Metastable folding intermediates have proved important to a number of biological processes including plasmid replication (12), replication of RNA by Q replicase (13, 14), human immunodeficiency virus-1 RNA export to the cytoplasm (15), ribozyme activity (16 -20), and viroid replication (21-23).The hok/sok locus of plasmid R1 mediates plasmid maintenance by the killing of plasmid-free cells, also termed postsegregational killing (PSK) 1 (24). The PSK mechanism, which restricts synthesis of Hok toxin to newborn plasmid-free cells, is controlled entirely at the post-transcriptional level. The hok/ sok locus, presented schematically in Fig. 1, specifies two transcripts: the toxin-encoding hok (host killing) mRNA and the labile antisense inhibitor Sok RN...