scholarly journals Structures of ribosome-bound initiation factor 2 reveal the mechanism of subunit association

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. e1501502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiemo Sprink ◽  
David J. F. Ramrath ◽  
Hiroshi Yamamoto ◽  
Kaori Yamamoto ◽  
Justus Loerke ◽  
...  

Throughout the four phases of protein biosynthesis—initiation, elongation, termination, and recycling—the ribosome is controlled and regulated by at least one specified translational guanosine triphosphatase (trGTPase). Although the structural basis for trGTPase interaction with the ribosome has been solved for the last three steps of translation, the high-resolution structure for the key initiation trGTPase, initiation factor 2 (IF2), complexed with the ribosome, remains elusive. We determine the structure of IF2 complexed with a nonhydrolyzable guanosine triphosphate analog and initiator fMet-tRNAiMet in the context of the Escherichia coli ribosome to 3.7-Å resolution using cryo-electron microscopy. The structural analysis reveals previously unseen intrinsic conformational modes of the 70S initiation complex, establishing the mutual interplay of IF2 and initator transfer RNA (tRNA) with the ribsosome and providing the structural foundation for a mechanistic understanding of the final steps of translation initiation.

2018 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 593a
Author(s):  
Kelvin Caban ◽  
Michael Pavlov ◽  
Sandip Kaledhonkar ◽  
Ziao Fu ◽  
Joachim Frank ◽  
...  

Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 369 (6508) ◽  
pp. 1220-1227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jailson Brito Querido ◽  
Masaaki Sokabe ◽  
Sebastian Kraatz ◽  
Yuliya Gordiyenko ◽  
J. Mark Skehel ◽  
...  

A key step in translational initiation is the recruitment of the 43S preinitiation complex by the cap-binding complex [eukaryotic initiation factor 4F (eIF4F)] at the 5′ end of messenger RNA (mRNA) to form the 48S initiation complex (i.e., the 48S). The 48S then scans along the mRNA to locate a start codon. To understand the mechanisms involved, we used cryo–electron microscopy to determine the structure of a reconstituted human 48S. The structure reveals insights into early events of translation initiation complex assembly, as well as how eIF4F interacts with subunits of eIF3 near the mRNA exit channel in the 43S. The location of eIF4F is consistent with a slotting model of mRNA recruitment and suggests that downstream mRNA is unwound at least in part by being “pulled” through the 40S subunit during scanning.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1101
Author(s):  
Yuqing Huang ◽  
Peng Zheng ◽  
Xuejiao Liu ◽  
Hao Chen ◽  
Jumin Tu

The initiation stage of protein biosynthesis is a sophisticated process tightly regulated by numerous initiation factors and their associated components. However, the mechanism underlying translation initiation has not been completely understood in rice. Here, we showed knock-out mutation of the rice eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 subunit h (OseIF3h) resulted in plant growth retardation and seed-setting rate reduction as compared to the wild type. Further investigation demonstrated an interaction between OseIF3h and OsMTA2 (mRNA adenosine methylase 2), a rice homolog of METTL3 (methyltransferase-like 3) in mammals, which provided new insight into how N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification of messenger RNA (mRNA) is engaged in the translation initiation process in monocot species. Moreover, the RIP-seq (RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing) data suggested that OseIF3h was involved in multiple biological processes, including photosynthesis, cellular metabolic process, precursor metabolites, and energy generation. Therefore, we infer that OseIF3h interacts with OsMTA2 to target a particular subset of genes at translational level, regulating plant growth and pollen development.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Dimos ◽  
Carl P.O. Helmer ◽  
Andrea M. Chanique ◽  
Markus C. Wahl ◽  
Robert Kourist ◽  
...  

Enzyme catalysis has emerged as a key technology for developing efficient, sustainable processes in the chemical, biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries. Plants provide large and diverse pools of biosynthetic enzymes that facilitate complex reactions, such as the formation of intricate terpene carbon skeletons, with exquisite specificity. High-resolution structural analysis of these enzymes is crucial to understand their mechanisms and modulate their properties by targeted engineering. Although cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has revolutionized structural biology, its applicability to high-resolution structure analysis of comparatively small enzymes is so far largely unexplored. Here, we show that cryo-EM can reveal the structures of ~120 kDa plant borneol dehydrogenases at or below 2 Å resolution, paving the way for the fast development of new biocatalysts that provide access to bioactive terpenes and terpenoids.


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