Translation of an mRNA encoding a selenoprotein requires that at least one UGA codon in the reading frame is recoded as a site for the insertion of selenocysteine. In eukaryotes, the termination codon recoding event is directed by a cis-acting signal element located in the 3' untranslated region of the gene. This 'selenocysteine insertion sequence' (SECIS) comprises conserved sequences in a region of extensive base-pairing. In order to study the structure-function relationships of the SECIS structure, we have applied a newly developed reporter gene system which allows analysis of stop codon suppression in animal cell lines. This system obviates the need for enzymatic or immunological estimation of selenoprotein synthesis, relying instead on the simple quantification of translational readthrough from the lacZ gene into the luciferase gene. The 3'-UTR of the phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) gene was shown to contain a highly active SECIS element. Mutations in the base-paired sequences of other SECIS elements were used to analyse the significance of primary structure, secondary structure and pairing stability in the stem regions. The results demonstrate that the exact sequences of the paired nucleotides are comparatively unimportant, provided that a consensus combination of length and thermodynamic stability of the base-paired structures is maintained.