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- Title
Non-stop mRNA decay initiates at the ribosome.
- Authors
Zhiyun Ge; Mehta, Preeti; Richards, Jamie; Karzai, A. Wali
- Abstract
The translation machinery deciphers genetic information encoded within mRNAs to synthesize proteins needed for various cellular functions. Defective mRNAs that lack in-frame stop codons trigger non-productive stalling of ribosomes. We investigated how cells deal with such defective mRNAs, and present evidence to demonstrate that RNase R, a processive 3′-to-5′ exoribonuclease, is recruited to stalled ribosomes for the specific task of degrading defective mRNAs. The recruitment process is selective for non-stop mRNAs and is dependent on the activities of SmpB protein and tmRNA. Most intriguingly, our analysis reveals that a unique structural feature of RNase R, the C-terminal lysine-rich (K-rich) domain, is required both for productive ribosome engagement and targeted non-stop mRNA decay activities of the enzyme. These findings provide new insights into how a general RNase is recruited to the translation machinery and highlight a novel role for the ribosome as a platform for initiating non-stop mRNA decay.
- Subjects
MESSENGER RNA; PROTEINS; GENETICS; RIBOSOMES; CELLS
- Publication
Molecular Microbiology, 2010, Vol 78, Issue 5, p1159
- ISSN
0950-382X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1365-2958.2010.07396.x