Converting GTP hydrolysis into motion: versatile translational elongation factor G

2019 ◽  
Vol 401 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina V. Rodnina ◽  
Frank Peske ◽  
Bee-Zen Peng ◽  
Riccardo Belardinelli ◽  
Wolfgang Wintermeyer
Keyword(s):  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Ribosome Recycling Factor ◽  
Canonical Function ◽  
Elongation Factor G ◽  
Translation Elongation ◽  
Gtp Hydrolysis ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Gtpase Cycle ◽  
A Site ◽  
Factor G

Abstract Elongation factor G (EF-G) is a translational GTPase that acts at several stages of protein synthesis. Its canonical function is to catalyze tRNA movement during translation elongation, but it also acts at the last step of translation to promote ribosome recycling. Moreover, EF-G has additional functions, such as helping the ribosome to maintain the mRNA reading frame or to slide over non-coding stretches of the mRNA. EF-G has an unconventional GTPase cycle that couples the energy of GTP hydrolysis to movement. EF-G facilitates movement in the GDP-Pi form. To convert the energy of hydrolysis to movement, it requires various ligands in the A site, such as a tRNA in translocation, an mRNA secondary structure element in ribosome sliding, or ribosome recycling factor in post-termination complex disassembly. The ligand defines the direction and timing of EF-G-facilitated motion. In this review, we summarize recent advances in understanding the mechanism of EF-G action as a remarkable force-generating GTPase.

scholarly journals Active role of elongation factor G in maintaining the mRNA reading frame during translation

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. eaax8030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bee-Zen Peng ◽  
Lars V. Bock ◽  
Riccardo Belardinelli ◽  
Frank Peske ◽  
Helmut Grubmüller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Transfer Rna ◽  
Specific Interactions ◽  
Elongation Factor G ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
A Site ◽  
Factor G ◽  
Domain 4

During translation, the ribosome moves along the mRNA one codon at a time with the help of elongation factor G (EF-G). Spontaneous changes in the translational reading frame are extremely rare, yet how the precise triplet-wise step is maintained is not clear. Here, we show that the ribosome is prone to spontaneous frameshifting on mRNA slippery sequences, whereas EF-G restricts frameshifting. EF-G helps to maintain the mRNA reading frame by guiding the A-site transfer RNA during translocation due to specific interactions with the tip of EF-G domain 4. Furthermore, EF-G accelerates ribosome rearrangements that restore the ribosome’s control over the codon-anticodon interaction at the end of the movement. Our data explain how the mRNA reading frame is maintained during translation.

scholarly journals Spontaneous ribosomal translocation of mRNA and tRNAs into a chimeric hybrid state

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (16) ◽  
pp. 7813-7818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Zhou ◽  
Laura Lancaster ◽  
John Paul Donohue ◽  
Harry F. Noller
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Structure ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Intermediate Complex ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Hybrid State ◽  
Head Domain ◽  
30S Subunit ◽  
A Site ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Factor G

The elongation factor G (EF-G)–catalyzed translocation of mRNA and tRNA through the ribosome is essential for vacating the ribosomal A site for the next incoming aminoacyl-tRNA, while precisely maintaining the translational reading frame. Here, the 3.2-Å crystal structure of a ribosome translocation intermediate complex containing mRNA and two tRNAs, formed in the absence of EF-G or GTP, provides insight into the respective roles of EF-G and the ribosome in translocation. Unexpectedly, the head domain of the 30S subunit is rotated by 21°, creating a ribosomal conformation closely resembling the two-tRNA chimeric hybrid state that was previously observed only in the presence of bound EF-G. The two tRNAs have moved spontaneously from their A/A and P/P binding states into ap/P and pe/E states, in which their anticodon loops are bound between the 30S body domain and its rotated head domain, while their acceptor ends have moved fully into the 50S P and E sites, respectively. Remarkably, the A-site tRNA translocates fully into the classical P-site position. Although the mRNA also undergoes movement, codon–anticodon interaction is disrupted in the absence of EF-G, resulting in slippage of the translational reading frame. We conclude that, although movement of both tRNAs and mRNA (along with rotation of the 30S head domain) can occur in the absence of EF-G and GTP, EF-G is essential for enforcing coupled movement of the tRNAs and their mRNA codons to maintain the reading frame.

scholarly journals The hibernating 100S complex is a target of ribosome-recycling factor and elongation factor G in Staphylococcus aureus

2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (18) ◽  
pp. 6053-6063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnab Basu ◽  
Kathryn E. Shields ◽  
Mee-Ngan F. Yap
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Alternative Pathway ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Ribosome Recycling Factor ◽  
Elongation Factor G ◽  
Independent Manner ◽  
Factor G

The formation of translationally inactive 70S dimers (called 100S ribosomes) by hibernation-promoting factor is a widespread survival strategy among bacteria. Ribosome dimerization is thought to be reversible, with the dissociation of the 100S complexes enabling ribosome recycling for participation in new rounds of translation. The precise pathway of 100S ribosome recycling has been unclear. We previously found that the heat-shock GTPase HflX in the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus is a minor disassembly factor. Cells lacking hflX do not accumulate 100S ribosomes unless they are subjected to heat exposure, suggesting the existence of an alternative pathway during nonstressed conditions. Here, we provide biochemical and genetic evidence that two essential translation factors, ribosome-recycling factor (RRF) and GTPase elongation factor G (EF-G), synergistically split 100S ribosomes in a GTP-dependent but tRNA translocation-independent manner. We found that although HflX and the RRF/EF-G pair are functionally interchangeable, HflX is expressed at low levels and is dispensable under normal growth conditions. The bacterial RRF/EF-G pair was previously known to target only the post-termination 70S complexes; our results reveal a new role in the reversal of ribosome hibernation that is intimately linked to bacterial pathogenesis, persister formation, stress responses, and ribosome integrity.

scholarly journals Elongation factor G initiates translocation through a power stroke

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (27) ◽  
pp. 7515-7520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunlai Chen ◽  
Xiaonan Cui ◽  
John F. Beausang ◽  
Haibo Zhang ◽  
Ian Farrell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Molecule ◽  
Messenger Rna ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Power Stroke ◽  
Elongation Factor G ◽  
Gtp Hydrolysis ◽  
Guanosine Triphosphatase ◽  
Prokaryotic Protein ◽  
Domain Iii ◽  
Factor G

During the translocation step of prokaryotic protein synthesis, elongation factor G (EF-G), a guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase), binds to the ribosomal PRE-translocation (PRE) complex and facilitates movement of transfer RNAs (tRNAs) and messenger RNA (mRNA) by one codon. Energy liberated by EF-G’s GTPase activity is necessary for EF-G to catalyze rapid and precise translocation. Whether this energy is used mainly to drive movements of the tRNAs and mRNA or to foster EF-G dissociation from the ribosome after translocation has been a long-lasting debate. Free EF-G, not bound to the ribosome, adopts quite different structures in its GTP and GDP forms. Structures of EF-G on the ribosome have been visualized at various intermediate steps along the translocation pathway, using antibiotics and nonhydolyzable GTP analogs to block translocation and to prolong the dwell time of EF-G on the ribosome. However, the structural dynamics of EF-G bound to the ribosome have not yet been described during normal, uninhibited translocation. Here, we report the rotational motions of EF-G domains during normal translocation detected by single-molecule polarized total internal reflection fluorescence (polTIRF) microscopy. Our study shows that EF-G has a small (∼10°) global rotational motion relative to the ribosome after GTP hydrolysis that exerts a force to unlock the ribosome. This is followed by a larger rotation within domain III of EF-G before its dissociation from the ribosome.

scholarly journals Activation of GTP hydrolysis in mRNA-tRNA translocation by elongation factor G

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. e1500169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Li ◽  
Zheng Liu ◽  
Ravi Kiran Koripella ◽  
Robert Langlois ◽  
Suparna Sanyal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Elongation Factor G ◽  
Direct Role ◽  
Gtp Hydrolysis ◽  
Ribosomal Subunits ◽  
Trna Translocation ◽  
Gtpase Activation ◽  
Guanosine Triphosphatase ◽  
Factor G

During protein synthesis, elongation of the polypeptide chain by each amino acid is followed by a translocation step in which mRNA and transfer RNA (tRNA) are advanced by one codon. This crucial step is catalyzed by elongation factor G (EF-G), a guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase), and accompanied by a rotation between the two ribosomal subunits. A mutant of EF-G, H91A, renders the factor impaired in guanosine triphosphate (GTP) hydrolysis and thereby stabilizes it on the ribosome. We use cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) at near-atomic resolution to investigate two complexes formed by EF-G H91A in its GTP state with the ribosome, distinguished by the presence or absence of the intersubunit rotation. Comparison of these two structures argues in favor of a direct role of the conserved histidine in the switch II loop of EF-G in GTPase activation, and explains why GTP hydrolysis cannot proceed with EF-G bound to the unrotated form of the ribosome.

scholarly journals Release of Ribosome-bound Ribosome Recycling Factor by Elongation Factor G

2003 ◽  
Vol 278 (48) ◽  
pp. 48041-48050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Kiel ◽  
V. Samuel Raj ◽  
Hideko Kaji ◽  
Akira Kaji
Keyword(s):  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Ribosome Recycling Factor ◽  
Elongation Factor G ◽  
Factor G

Crystallographic studies of elongation factor G

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1209-1216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Liljas ◽  
Arnthor Ævarsson ◽  
Salam Al-Karadaghi ◽  
Maria Garber ◽  
Julia Zheltonosova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Structures ◽  
Conformational Change ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Elongation Factors ◽  
Elongation Factor G ◽  
Conformational States ◽  
Gtp Hydrolysis ◽  
Large Conformational Change ◽  
Factor G

The elongation factors G (EF-G) and Tu (EF-Tu) go through a number of conformation states in their functional cycles. Since they both are GTPases, have similar G domains and domains II, and have similar interactions with the nucleotides, then GTP hydrolysis must occur in similar ways. The crystal structures of two conformational states are known for EF-G and three are known for EF-Tu. The conformations of EF-G∙GDP and EF-Tu∙GTP are closely related. EF-Tu goes through a large conformational change upon GTP cleavage. This conformational change is to a large extent due to an altered interaction between the G domain and domains II and III. A number of kirromycin-resistant mutations are situated at the interface between domains I and III. The interface between the G domain and domain V in EF-G corresponds with this dynamic interface in EF-Tu. The contact area in EF-G is small and dominated by interactions between charged amino acids, which are part of a system that is observed to undergo conformational changes. Furthermore, a number of fusidic acid resistant mutants have been identified in this area. All of this evidence makes it likely that EF-G undergoes a large conformational change in its functional cycle. If the structures and conformational states of the elongation factors are related to a scheme in which the ribosome oscillates between two conformations, the pretranslocational and posttranslocational states, a model is arrived at in which EF-Tu drives the reaction in one direction and EF-G in the opposite. This may lead to the consequence that the GTP state of one factor is similar to the GDP state of the other. At the GTP hydrolysis state, the structures of the factors will be close to superimposable.Key words: elongation factor G, elongation factor Tu, crystal structures, conformational changes, ribosomal conformation.

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