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Translation

Till termination us do part

Nature volume 459, pages 44–45 (2009)Cite this article

Translation of messenger RNA into protein is a complex and intricate process involving several steps and many step-specific protein factors. But one factor — eIF5A — seems to have a hand in every step.

The process of translation is divided into three main steps: initiation, elongation and termination. Initiation involves the binding of ribosomes — the cell's protein-synthesis machinery — to a specific start site on the messenger RNA sequence. During elongation, the ribosome moves along the mRNA, translating its sequence into a chain of amino acids that are supplied by transfer RNA. Termination occurs when the ribosome and the nascent polypeptide both detach from the mRNA after reaching the end of the protein-coding region on the mRNA. In all three domains of life (bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes), specific protein factors aid each translation step. For example, two universally conserved elongation factors have been identified; their eukaryotic versions are called eEF1A and eEF2. On page 118 of this issue, Saini et al.1 report the existence of a third universal elongation factor, eIF5A, which is unique in that it also acts as an initiation factor and a termination factor.

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  1. William Merrick is in the Department of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, 44106, Ohio, USA

    William Merrick

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  1. William Merrick
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Merrick, W. Till termination us do part. Nature 459, 44–45 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/459044a

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