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Messenger RNA interactions in the decoding center control the rate of translocation

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 18, pages 1300–1302 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

During protein synthesis, mRNA and tRNAs are iteratively translocated by the ribosome. Precisely what molecular event is rate limiting for translocation is not known. Here we show that disruption of the interactions between the A-site codon and the ribosome accelerates translocation, suggesting that the release of the mRNA from the decoding center of the ribosome is the rate-limiting step of translocation. These results provide insight into the molecular mechanism of translocation.

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Figure 1: Interactions in the decoding center and the kinetics of tRNA dissociation.
Figure 2: Translocation kinetics of 2′-deoxynucleotide– and 2′-fluoro–substituted mRNAs.
Figure 3: Inhibition of tRNA dissociation and translocation by viomycin.

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Acknowledgements

We thank H. Noller, U. Muller and G. Ghosh for comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by a grant from the US National Science Foundation (S.J.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

    Prashant K Khade & Simpson Joseph

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  1. Prashant K Khade
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  2. Simpson Joseph
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Contributions

P.K.K. and S.J. designed the experiments, P.K.K. performed the experiments, and P.K.K. and S.J. discussed the results and wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Simpson Joseph.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Supplementary Text and Figures

Supplementary Figures 1–6, Supplementary Tables 1–3, Supplementary Discussion and Supplementary Methods (PDF 709 kb)

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Khade, P., Joseph, S. Messenger RNA interactions in the decoding center control the rate of translocation. Nat Struct Mol Biol 18, 1300–1302 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.2140

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