A bacterial initiation factor (IF) is a protein that stabilizes the initiation complex for polypeptide translation.
Translation initiation is essential to protein synthesis and regulates mRNA translation fidelity and efficiency in bacteria. [1] The 30S ribosomal subunit, initiator tRNA, and mRNA form an initiation complex for elongation. [2] This complex process requires three essential protein factors in bacteria – IF1, IF2, and IF3. [3] These factors bind to the 30S subunit and promote correct initiation codon selection on the mRNA. [4] IF1, the smallest factor at 8.2 kDa, blocks elongator tRNA binding at the A-site. [5] IF2 is the major component that transports initiator tRNA to the P-site. [6] IF3 checks P-site codon-anticodon pairing and rejects incorrect initiation complexes. [7]
The orderly mechanism of initiation starts with IF3 attaching to the 30S subunit and changing its shape. [8] IF1 joins next, followed by mRNA binding, and starts codon-P-site interaction. [9] IF2 enters with the initiator tRNA and places it on the start codon. [6] GTP hydrolysis by IF2 releases it and IF3, enabling 50S subunit joining. [10] The coordinated binding and activities of IF1, IF2, and IF3 are essential for the rapid and precise translation initiation in bacteria. They facilitate start codon selection and assemble an active, protein-synthesis-ready 70S ribosome.
Bacterial initiation factor 1 associates with the 30S ribosomal subunit in the A site and prevents an aminoacyl-tRNA from entering. It modulates IF2 binding to the ribosome by increasing its affinity. It may also prevent the 50S subunit from binding, stopping the formation of the 70S subunit. It also contains a β-domain fold common for nucleic acid-binding proteins. It is a homolog of eIF1A. Initiation factor IF-1 is the smallest translation factor at only 8.2kDa. [11] Beyond blocking the A-site, it affects the dynamics of ribosome association and dissociation. IF-1 enhances dissociation with IF-3, likely by inducing conformational changes in the 30S subunit. [12] It also increases the binding affinity of IF-2 to the 30S subunit, possibly by altering the subunit configuration. [13] Though IF-1 occupies the A-site, it does so in a way that is distinct from tRNA binding. Structural studies show IF-1 inserts a loop into the minor groove of helix 44 of 16S rRNA, flipping out bases A1492 and A1493. [14] This insertion repositions nucleotides of helix 44, transmitting a conformational change over a 70Å distance and rotating the head of the 30S subunit. IF-1 mutants can exhibit cold-sensitive phenotypes, indicating a role for the factor in cold shock adaptation. [15] Certain mutations also lead to o of genes at low temperatures, suggesting IF-1 is involved in gene regulation. [16] IF-1 actively modifies ribosome structure and dynamics during initiation, in addition to just blocking the A-site.
The IF2 initiation factor is a crucial component in the process of protein synthesis. The largest among the three indispensable translation initiation factors is IF-2, which possesses a molecular mass of 97 kDa. [17] [18] The protein has many domains, including an N-terminal domain, a GTPase domain, a linker region, C1, C2, and C-terminal domains. The GTPase domain encompasses the G1-G5 motif, which is responsible for the binding and hydrolysis of GTP. [19] The activity of IF2 is regulated by conformational changes induced by the binding and hydrolysis of GTP. [6] The primary function of IF-2 is to transport the initiator fMet-tRNA to the P-site of the 30S ribosomal subunit. [20] The C2 domain of IF2 has a unique recognition and binding affinity towards the initiator tRNA. The IF-2 protein has been observed to form a ternary complex when interacting with GTP and fMet-tRNA. [21] This complex has been found to interact with the 30S subunit. [6] The initiation of mRNA translation involves the placement of the start codon in the P-site through the codon-anticodon base matching with the tRNA anti-codon. [22] IF2 regulates start codon selection accuracy and inhibits elongator tRNAs' binding by selectively binding to fMet-tRNA. [23] Additionally, it relocates the initiator tRNA on the 30S subunit to enhance the optimum contact with the P-site. [24] Furthermore, IF2 exhibits RNA chaperone activity, which enables it to rectify misfolded RNA structures. In general, the IF2 protein plays a crucial role in coordinating many steps of translation initiation, including the binding of mRNA and fMet-tRNA to the start codon, the joining of sub-units, and the activation of GTPase.
Initiation factor IF3 is a small protein of 21 kDa containing two compact α/β domains (IF3C and IF3N) connected by a flexible lysine-rich linker. [25] [26] Most IF3 functions are mediated by the IF3C domain, while IF3N regulates 30S subunit binding. Bacterial initiation factor 3 (infC) is not universally found in all bacterial species but in E. coli it is required for the 30S subunit to bind to the initiation site in mRNA. IF3 is required by the small subunit to form initiation complexes, but has to be released to allow the 50S subunit to bind. [27] [28] IF3 attaches to the platform side of the 30S subunit, close to helices 23, 24, 25, 26 and 45 of 16S rRNA, as well as ribosomal proteins S7, S11, and S12. [29] The IF3C domain interacts with the 30S subunit via its conserved basic residues R99, R116, R147 and R168 . [30] A major function of IF3 is inspecting codon-anticodon pairing at the P-site during start codon selection. [7] It accelerates the dissociation of non-canonical initiation complexes containing mismatched or incorrect tRNAs. [31] [32] IF3 also inspects the initiator tRNA, rejecting elongator tRNAs and it also promotes the dissociation of the 70S ribosome into subunits, providing a pool of free 30S subunits for initiation. [9] Another key role of IF3 is repositioning mRNA on the 30S subunit from a standby site to the P-site decoding site for start codon selection. [33] [34] IF3 works cooperatively with IF1 and IF2 during initiation and modulates IF2 binding and enhances the fidelity of start codon selection.
In biology, translation is the process in living cells in which proteins are produced using RNA molecules as templates. The generated protein is a sequence of amino acids. This sequence is determined by the sequence of nucleotides in the RNA. The nucleotides are considered three at a time. Each such triple results in addition of one specific amino acid to the protein being generated. The matching from nucleotide triple to amino acid is called the genetic code. The translation is performed by a large complex of functional RNA and proteins called ribosomes. The entire process is called gene expression.
The 5′ untranslated region is the region of a messenger RNA (mRNA) that is directly upstream from the initiation codon. This region is important for the regulation of translation of a transcript by differing mechanisms in viruses, prokaryotes and eukaryotes. While called untranslated, the 5′ UTR or a portion of it is sometimes translated into a protein product. This product can then regulate the translation of the main coding sequence of the mRNA. In many organisms, however, the 5′ UTR is completely untranslated, instead forming a complex secondary structure to regulate translation.
Bacterial translation is the process by which messenger RNA is translated into proteins in bacteria.
Eukaryotic translation is the biological process by which messenger RNA is translated into proteins in eukaryotes. It consists of four phases: initiation, elongation, termination, and recapping.
The Kozak consensus sequence is a nucleic acid motif that functions as the protein translation initiation site in most eukaryotic mRNA transcripts. Regarded as the optimum sequence for initiating translation in eukaryotes, the sequence is an integral aspect of protein regulation and overall cellular health as well as having implications in human disease. It ensures that a protein is correctly translated from the genetic message, mediating ribosome assembly and translation initiation. A wrong start site can result in non-functional proteins. As it has become more studied, expansions of the nucleotide sequence, bases of importance, and notable exceptions have arisen. The sequence was named after the scientist who discovered it, Marilyn Kozak. Kozak discovered the sequence through a detailed analysis of DNA genomic sequences.
Initiation factors are proteins that bind to the small subunit of the ribosome during the initiation of translation, a part of protein biosynthesis.
Eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) are proteins or protein complexes involved in the initiation phase of eukaryotic translation. These proteins help stabilize the formation of ribosomal preinitiation complexes around the start codon and are an important input for post-transcription gene regulation. Several initiation factors form a complex with the small 40S ribosomal subunit and Met-tRNAiMet called the 43S preinitiation complex. Additional factors of the eIF4F complex recruit the 43S PIC to the five-prime cap structure of the mRNA, from which the 43S particle scans 5'-->3' along the mRNA to reach an AUG start codon. Recognition of the start codon by the Met-tRNAiMet promotes gated phosphate and eIF1 release to form the 48S preinitiation complex, followed by large 60S ribosomal subunit recruitment to form the 80S ribosome. There exist many more eukaryotic initiation factors than prokaryotic initiation factors, reflecting the greater biological complexity of eukaryotic translation. There are at least twelve eukaryotic initiation factors, composed of many more polypeptides, and these are described below.
The Hepatitis C virus internal ribosome entry site, or HCV IRES, is an RNA structure within the 5'UTR of the HCV genome that mediates cap-independent translation initiation.
The prokaryotic small ribosomal subunit, or 30S subunit, is the smaller subunit of the 70S ribosome found in prokaryotes. It is a complex of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and 19 proteins. This complex is implicated in the binding of transfer RNA to messenger RNA (mRNA). The small subunit is responsible for the binding and the reading of the mRNA during translation. The small subunit, both the rRNA and its proteins, complexes with the large 50S subunit to form the 70S prokaryotic ribosome in prokaryotic cells. This 70S ribosome is then used to translate mRNA into proteins.
Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5B is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EIF5B gene.
Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 1 (eIF1) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EIF1 gene. It is related to yeast SUI1.
EF-G is a prokaryotic elongation factor involved in protein translation. As a GTPase, EF-G catalyzes the movement (translocation) of transfer RNA (tRNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA) through the ribosome.
The eukaryotic small ribosomal subunit (40S) is the smaller subunit of the eukaryotic 80S ribosomes, with the other major component being the large ribosomal subunit (60S). The "40S" and "60S" names originate from the convention that ribosomal particles are denoted according to their sedimentation coefficients in Svedberg units. It is structurally and functionally related to the 30S subunit of 70S prokaryotic ribosomes. However, the 40S subunit is much larger than the prokaryotic 30S subunit and contains many additional protein segments, as well as rRNA expansion segments.
Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 2 (eIF2) is an eukaryotic initiation factor. It is required for most forms of eukaryotic translation initiation. eIF2 mediates the binding of tRNAiMet to the ribosome in a GTP-dependent manner. eIF2 is a heterotrimer consisting of an alpha, a beta, and a gamma subunit.
Bacterial initiation factor 1 is a bacterial initiation factor.
Translational regulation refers to the control of the levels of protein synthesized from its mRNA. This regulation is vastly important to the cellular response to stressors, growth cues, and differentiation. In comparison to transcriptional regulation, it results in much more immediate cellular adjustment through direct regulation of protein concentration. The corresponding mechanisms are primarily targeted on the control of ribosome recruitment on the initiation codon, but can also involve modulation of peptide elongation, termination of protein synthesis, or ribosome biogenesis. While these general concepts are widely conserved, some of the finer details in this sort of regulation have been proven to differ between prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.
In molecular biology, the single-domain protein SUI1 is a translation initiation factor often found in the fungus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae but it is also found in other eukaryotes and prokaryotes as well as archaea. It is otherwise known as Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 1 (eIF1) in eukaryotes or YciH in bacteria.
In molecular biology, translation initiation factor IF-3 is one of the three factors required for the initiation of protein biosynthesis in bacteria. IF-3 is thought to function as a fidelity factor during the assembly of the ternary initiation complex which consists of the 30S ribosomal subunit, the initiator tRNA and the messenger RNA. IF-3 is a basic protein that binds to the 30S ribosomal subunit. The chloroplast homolog enhances the poly(A,U,G)-dependent binding of the initiator tRNA to its ribosomal 30s subunits. IF1–IF3 may also perform ribosome recycling.
The 43S preinitiation complex is a ribonucleoprotein complex that exists during an early step of eukaryotic translation initiation. The 43S PIC contains the small ribosomal subunit (40S) bound by the initiation factors eIF1, eIF1A, eIF3, and the eIF2-Met-tRNAiMet-GTP ternary complex (eIF2-TC).
Archaeal initiation factors are proteins that are used during the translation step of protein synthesis in archaea. The principal functions these proteins perform include ribosome RNA/mRNA recognition, delivery of the initiator Met-tRNAiMet, methionine bound tRNAi, to the 40s ribosome, and proofreading of the initiation complex.