scholarly journals Conformational rearrangements upon start codon recognition in human 48S translation initiation complex

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung-Hui Yi ◽  
Valentyn Petrychenko ◽  
Jan Erik Schliep ◽  
Akanksha Goyal ◽  
Andreas Linden ◽  
...  

Selection of the translation start codon is a key step during protein synthesis in human cells. We obtained cryo-EM structures of human 48S initiation complexes and characterized the intermediates of codon recognition by kinetic methods using eIF1A as a reporter. Both approaches capture two distinct ribosome populations formed on an mRNA with a cognate AUG codon in the presence of eIF1, eIF1A, eIF2–GTP–Met-tRNAiMet, and eIF3. The ‘open’ 40S subunit conformation differs from the human 48S scanning complex and represents an intermediate preceding the codon recognition step. The ‘closed’ form is similar to reported structures of complexes from yeast and mammals formed upon codon recognition, except for the orientation of eIF1A, which is unique in our structure. Kinetic experiments show how various initiation factors mediate the population distribution of open and closed conformations until 60S subunit docking. Our results provide insights into the timing and structure of human translation initiation intermediates and suggest the differences in the mechanisms of start codon selection between mammals and yeast.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yifei Gu ◽  
Yuanhui Mao ◽  
Longfei Jia ◽  
Leiming Dong ◽  
Shu-Bing Qian

AbstractThe fidelity of start codon recognition by ribosomes is paramount during protein synthesis. The current knowledge of eukaryotic translation initiation implies unidirectional 5ʹ→3ʹ migration of the pre-initiation complex (PIC) along the 5ʹ UTR. In probing translation initiation from ultra-short 5ʹ UTR, we report that an AUG triplet near the 5ʹ end can be selected via PIC backsliding. Bi-directional ribosome scanning is supported by competitive selection of closely spaced AUG codons and recognition of two initiation sites flanking an internal ribosome entry site. Transcriptome-wide PIC profiling reveals footprints with an oscillation pattern near the 5ʹ end and start codons. Depleting the RNA helicase eIF4A leads to reduced PIC oscillations and impaired selection of 5ʹ end start codons. Enhancing the ATPase activity of eIF4A promotes nonlinear PIC scanning and stimulates upstream translation initiation. The helicase-mediated PIC conformational switch may provide an operational mechanism that unifies ribosome recruitment, scanning, and start codon selection.


eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyothsna Visweswaraiah ◽  
Yvette Pittman ◽  
Thomas E Dever ◽  
Alan G Hinnebusch

The eukaryotic 43S pre-initiation complex bearing tRNAiMet scans the mRNA leader for an AUG start codon in favorable context. Structural analyses revealed that the β-hairpin of 40S protein Rps5/uS7 protrudes into the 40S mRNA exit-channel, contacting the eIF2∙GTP∙Met-tRNAi ternary complex (TC) and mRNA context nucleotides; but its importance in AUG selection was unknown. We identified substitutions in β-strand-1 and C-terminal residues of yeast Rps5 that reduced bulk initiation, conferred ‘leaky-scanning’ of AUGs; and lowered initiation fidelity by exacerbating the effect of poor context of the eIF1 AUG codon to reduce eIF1 abundance. Consistently, the β-strand-1 substitution greatly destabilized the ‘PIN’ conformation of TC binding to reconstituted 43S·mRNA complexes in vitro. Other substitutions in β-hairpin loop residues increased initiation fidelity and destabilized PIN at UUG, but not AUG start codons. We conclude that the Rps5 β-hairpin is as crucial as soluble initiation factors for efficient and accurate start codon recognition.


2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1716) ◽  
pp. 20160186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher H. S. Aylett ◽  
Nenad Ban

In all organisms, mRNA-directed protein synthesis is catalysed by ribosomes. Although the basic aspects of translation are preserved in all kingdoms of life, important differences are found in the process of translation initiation, which is rate-limiting and the most important step for translation regulation. While great strides had been taken towards a complete structural understanding of the initiation of translation in eubacteria, our understanding of the eukaryotic process, which includes numerous eukaryotic-specific initiation factors, was until recently limited owing to a lack of structural information. In this review, we discuss recent results in the field that provide an increasingly complete molecular description of the eukaryotic initiation process. The structural snapshots obtained using a range of methods now provide insights into the architecture of the initiation complex, start-codon recognition by the initiator tRNA and the process of subunit joining. Future advances will require both higher-resolution insights into previously characterized complexes and mapping of initiation factors that control translation on an additional level by interacting only peripherally or transiently with ribosomal subunits. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Perspectives on the ribosome’.


2004 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 259-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Yang ◽  
Jiang Chen ◽  
Catherine C. Y. Chang ◽  
Xin-Ying Yang ◽  
Zhen-Zhen Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Human ACAT1 cDNA K1 was first cloned and functionally expressed in 1993. There are two adjacent in-frame AUG codons, AUG1397–1399 and AUG1415–1417, at 5′-terminus of the open reading frame (ORF, nt 1397–3049) of human ACAT1 mRNA corresponding to cDNA K1. In current work, these two adjacent inframe AUGs at 5′-terminus of the predicted ORF (5′-ORF-AUGs) as start codons for translation initiation of human ACAT1 mRNA were characterized in detail. Codon mutations indicated that both of these two adjacent 5′-ORF-AUGs can be selected as start codons but the first 5′-ORF-AUG1397–1399 is a main start codon consistent with that of the predicted ORF of human ACAT1 mRNA. Further deletion and mutation analyses demonstrated that a stable upstream stem-loop structure enhanced the selection of the first 5′-ORF-AUG1397–1399 as a main start codon, in addition to upstream nucleotide A in the –3 position, which is a key site of Kozak sequence. In addition, result of ACAT1 enzymatic activity assay showed no obvious difference between these two ACAT1 proteins respectively initiated from the two adjacent 5′-ORF-AUGs. This work showed that a stable upstream stem-loop structure could modulate the start codon selection during translation initiation of mRNAs that contain adjacent multi-5′-ORF-AUGs.


Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinsheng Dong ◽  
Alan G Hinnebusch

Abstract The eukaryotic 43S pre-initiation complex (PIC) containing Met-tRNAiMet in a ternary complex (TC) with eIF2-GTP scans the mRNA leader for an AUG codon in favorable “Kozak” context. AUG recognition triggers rearrangement of the PIC from an open conformation to a closed state with more tightly bound Met-tRNAiMet. Yeast ribosomal protein uS5/Rps2 is located at the mRNA entry channel of the 40S subunit in the vicinity of mRNA nucleotides downstream from the AUG codon or rRNA residues that communicate with the decoding center, but its participation in start codon recognition was unknown. We found that non-lethal substitutions of conserved Rps2 residues in the entry channel reduce bulk translation initiation and increase discrimination against poor initiation codons. A subset of these substitutions suppress initiation at near-cognate UUG start codons in a yeast mutant with elevated UUG initiation, and also increase discrimination against AUG codons in suboptimal Kozak context, thus resembling previously described substitutions in uS3/Rps3 at the 40S entry channel or initiation factors eIF1 and eIF1A. In contrast, other Rps2 substitutions selectively discriminate against either near-cognate UUG codons, or poor Kozak context of an AUG or UUG start codon. These findings suggest that different Rps2 residues are involved in distinct mechanisms involved in discriminating against different features of poor initiation sites in vivo.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ipsita Basu ◽  
Biswajit Gorai ◽  
Thyageshwar Chandran ◽  
Prabal K. Maiti ◽  
Tanweer Hussain

AbstractDuring translational initiation in eukaryotes, the small ribosomal subunit forms a 48S preinitiation complex (PIC) with initiation factors. The 48S PIC binds to the 5’ end of mRNA and inspects long untranslated region (UTR) for the presence of the start codon (AUG). Accurate and high speed of scanning 5’ UTR and subsequent selection of the correct start codon are crucial for protein synthesis. However, the conformational state of 48S PIC required for inspecting every codon is not clearly understood. Whether the scanning or open conformation of 48S PIC can accurately select the cognate start codon over near/non-cognate codons, or this discrimination is carried out only in the scanning-arrested or closed conformation of 48S PIC. Here, using atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and free energy calculations, we show that the scanning conformation of 48S PIC can reject all but 4 of the 63 non-AUG codons. Among nine near-cognate codons with a single mismatch, only codons with a first position mismatch (GUG, CUG and UUG) or a pyrimidine mismatch at the second position (ACG) are not discriminated by scanning state of 48S PIC. In contrast, any mismatch in the third position is rejected. Simulations runs in absence of one or more eukaryotic initiation factors (eIF1, eIF1+eIF1A, eIF2ɑ or eIF2β) from the system show critical role of eIF1 and eIF2ɑ in start codon selection. The structural analysis indicates that tRNAi dynamics at the widened P site of 48S open state drives codon selection. Further, a stable codon: anticodon interaction prepares the PIC to transit to the closed state. Overall, we provide insights into the selection of start codon during scanning and how the open conformation of 48S PIC can scan long 5’ UTRs with accuracy and high speed without the requirement of sampling the closed state for every codon.


2015 ◽  
Vol 467 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna D. Stewart ◽  
Joanne L. Cowan ◽  
Lisa S. Perry ◽  
Mark J. Coldwell ◽  
Christopher G. Proud

ATP-binding cassette 50 (ABC50; also known as ABCF1) binds to eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2) and is required for efficient translation initiation. An essential step of this process is accurate recognition and selection of the initiation codon. It is widely accepted that the presence and movement of eIF1, eIF1A and eIF5 are key factors in modulating the stringency of start-site selection, which normally requires an AUG codon in an appropriate sequence context. In the present study, we show that expression of ABC50 mutants, which cannot hydrolyse ATP, decreases general translation and relaxes the discrimination against the use of non-AUG codons at translation start sites. These mutants do not appear to alter the association of key initiation factors to 40S subunits. The stringency of start-site selection can be restored through overexpression of eIF1, consistent with the role of that factor in enhancing stringency. The present study indicates that interfering with the function of ABC50 influences the accuracy of initiation codon selection.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (37) ◽  
pp. 11559-11564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Liu ◽  
Kurt Fredrick

Initiation of translation involves the assembly of a ribosome complex with initiator tRNA bound to the peptidyl site and paired to the start codon of the mRNA. In bacteria, this process is kinetically controlled by three initiation factors—IF1, IF2, and IF3. Here, we show that deletion of helix H69 (∆H69) of 23S rRNA allows rapid 50S docking without concomitant IF3 release and virtually eliminates the dependence of subunit joining on start codon identity. Despite this, overall accuracy of start codon selection, based on rates of formation of elongation-competent 70S ribosomes, is largely uncompromised in the absence of H69. Thus, the fidelity function of IF3 stems primarily from its interplay with initiator tRNA rather than its anti-subunit association activity. While retaining fidelity, ∆H69 ribosomes exhibit much slower rates of overall initiation, due to the delay in IF3 release and impedance of an IF3-independent step, presumably initiator tRNA positioning. These findings clarify the roles of H69 and IF3 in the mechanism of translation initiation and explain the dominant lethal phenotype of the ∆H69 mutation.


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