An acetyltransferase effector conserved across Legionella species targets the eukaryotic eIF3 complex to modulate protein translation.

The survival of Legionella spp. as intracellular pathogens relies on the combined action of protein effectors delivered inside their eukaryotic hosts by the Dot/Icm (defective in organelle trafficking/intracellular multiplication) type IVb secretion system. The specific repertoire of effector arsenals varies dramatically across over 60 known species of this genera with Legionella pneumophila responsible for most cases of Legionnaires' disease in humans encoding over 360 Dot/Icm effectors. However, a small subset of "core" effectors appears to be conserved across all Legionella species raising an intriguing question of their role in these bacteria's pathogenic strategy, which for most of these effectors remains unknown. L. pneumophila Lpg0103 effector, also known as VipF, represents one of the core effector families that features a tandem of Gcn5-related N-acetyltransferase (GNAT) domains. Here, we present the crystal structure of the Lha0223, the VipF representative from Legionella hackeliae in complex with acetyl-coenzyme A determined to 1.75 Å resolution. Our structural analysis suggested that this effector family shares a common fold with the two GNAT domains forming a deep groove occupied by residues conserved across VipF homologs. Further analysis suggested that only the C-terminal GNAT domain of VipF effectors retains the active site composition compatible with catalysis, whereas the N-terminal GNAT domain binds the ligand in a non-catalytical mode. We confirmed this by in vitro enzymatic assays which revealed VipF activity not only against generic small molecule substrates, such as chloramphenicol, but also against poly-L-lysine and histone-derived peptides. We identified the human eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (eIF3) complex co-precipitating with Lpg0103 and demonstrated the direct interaction between the several representatives of the VipF family, including Lpg0103 and Lha0223 with the K subunit of eIF3. According to our data, these interactions involve primarily the C-terminal tail of eIF3-K containing two lysine residues that are acetylated by VipF. VipF catalytic activity results in the suppression of eukaryotic protein translation in vitro, revealing the potential function of VipF "core" effectors in Legionella's pathogenic strategy.IMPORTANCEBy translocating effectors inside the eukaryotic host cell, bacteria can modulate host cellular processes in their favor. Legionella species, which includes the pneumonia-causing Legionella pneumophila, encode a widely diverse set of effectors with only a small subset that is conserved across this genus. Here, we demonstrate that one of these conserved effector families, represented by L. pneumophila VipF (Lpg0103), is a tandem Gcn5-related N-acetyltransferase interacting with the K subunit of human eukaryotic initiation factor 3 complex. VipF catalyzes the acetylation of lysine residues on the C-terminal tail of the K subunit, resulting in the suppression of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3-mediated protein translation in vitro. These new data provide the first insight into the molecular function of this pathogenic factor family common across Legionellae.

Plasmodium falciparum Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 3 is Stabilized by Quinazoline-Quinoline Bisubstrate Inhibitors.

Malaria drug resistance is hampering the fight against the deadliest parasitic disease affecting over 200 million people worldwide. We recently developed quinoline-quinazoline-based inhibitors (as compound 70) as promising new antimalarials. Here, we aimed to investigate their mode of action by using thermal proteome profiling (TPP). The eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (EIF3i) subunit I was identified as the main target protein stabilized by compound 70 in Plasmodium falciparum. This protein has never been characterized in malaria parasites. P. falciparum parasite lines were generated expressing either a HA tag or an inducible knockdown of the PfEIF3i gene to further characterize the target protein. PfEIF3i was stabilized in the presence of compound 70 in a cellular thermal shift Western blot assay, pointing that PfEIF3i indeed interacts with quinoline-quinazoline-based inhibitors. In addition, PfEIF3i-inducible knockdown blocks intra-erythrocytic development in the trophozoite stage, indicating that it has a vital function. We show that PfEIF3i is mostly expressed in late intra-erythrocytic stages and localizes in the cytoplasm. Previous mass spectrometry reports show that PfEIF3i is expressed in all parasite life cycle stages. Further studies will explore the potential of PfEIF3i as a target for the design of new antimalarial drugs active all along the life cycle of the parasite.

Neuronal RNA-Binding Protein HuD Interacts with Translation Initiation Factor eIF3.

Translation initiation is the rate-limiting step of protein synthesis and is the main target of translation regulation. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are key mediators of the spatiotemporal control of translation and are critical for cell proliferation, development, and differentiation. We have previously shown that HuD, one of the neuronal RBPs, enhances cap-dependent translation through the direct interaction with eukaryotic initiation factor 4A (eIF4A) and poly(A) tail using a HeLa-derived in vitro translation system. We have also found that translation stimulation of HuD is essential for HuD-induced neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells. However, it remains unclear how HuD is involved in the regulation of translation initiation. Here, we report that HuD binds to eukaryotic initiation factor 3 (eIF3) via the eIF3b subunit, which belongs to the functional core of mammalian eIF3. eIF3 plays an essential role in recruiting the 40S ribosomal subunit onto mRNA in translation initiation. We hypothesize that the interaction between HuD and eIF3 stabilizes the translation initiation complex and increases translation efficiency. We also showed that the linker region of HuD is required for the interaction with eIF3b. Moreover, we found that eIF3b-binding region of HuD is conserved in all Hu proteins (HuB, HuC, HuD, and HuR). These data might also help to explain how Hu proteins stimulate translation in a cap- and poly(A)-dependent way.

The initiation factor 3 (IF3) residues interacting with initiator tRNA elbow modulate the fidelity of translation initiation and growth fitness in Escherichia coli.

Initiation factor 3 (IF3) regulates the fidelity of bacterial translation initiation by debarring the use of non-canonical start codons or non-initiator tRNAs and prevents premature docking of the 50S ribosomal subunit to the 30S pre-initiation complex (PIC). The C-terminal domain (CTD) of IF3 can carry out most of the known functions of IF3 and sustain Escherichia coli growth. However, the roles of the N-terminal domain (NTD) have remained unclear. We hypothesized that the interaction between NTD and initiator tRNAfMet (i-tRNA) is essential to coordinate the movement of the two domains during the initiation pathway to ensure fidelity of the process. Here, using atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, we show that R25A/Q33A/R66A mutations do not impact NTD structure but disrupt its interaction with i-tRNA. These NTD residues modulate the fidelity of translation initiation and are crucial for bacterial growth. Our observations also implicate the role of these interactions in the subunit dissociation activity of CTD of IF3. Overall, the study shows that the interactions between NTD of IF3 and i-tRNA are crucial for coupling the movements of NTD and CTD of IF3 during the initiation pathway and in imparting growth fitness to E. coli.

Screening of genes encoding proteins that interact with ISG15: Probing a cDNA library from a snakehead fish cell line using a yeast two-hybrid system.

Interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) regulates cellular life processes, including defense responses against infection by a variety of viral pathogens, by binding to target proteins. At present, various fish ISG15s have been identified, but the biological function of ISG15 in snakehead fish is still unclear. In this study, total RNA was extracted from snakehead fish cell line E11, ds cDNA was synthesized and purified using SMART technology, and the resulting cDNA library was screened by co-transforming yeast cells. The library titer was 4.28 × 109 CFU/mL. Using snakehead ISG15 as the bait protein, the recombinant bait vector pGBKT7-ISG15 was constructed and transformed into the yeast strain Y2HGold. The toxicity and self-activation activity of the bait vector were detected on the deficient medium, and the prey proteins interacting with ISG15 were screened. In total, 19 interacting proteins of ISG15 were identified, including mitotic checkpoint protein BUB3, hypothetical protein SnRVgp6, elongation factor 1-beta, 60S ribosomal protein L9, dual specificity protein phosphatase 5-like, eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 subunit I and ferritin. A yeast spotting assay further probed the interaction between ISG15 and DUSP5. These results increase our understanding of the interaction network of snakehead ISG15 and will aid in exploring the underlying mechanisms of snakehead ISG15 functions in the future.

CRISPR-RNAa: targeted activation of translation using dCas13 fusions to translation initiation factors.

Tools for synthetically controlling gene expression are a cornerstone of genetic engineering. CRISPRi and CRISPRa technologies have been applied extensively for programmable modulation of gene transcription, but there are few such tools for targeted modulation of protein translation rates. Here, we employ CRISPR-Cas13 as a programmable activator of translation. We develop a novel variant of the catalytically-deactivated Cas13d enzyme dCasRx by fusing it to translation initiation factor IF3. We demonstrate dCasRx-IF3's ability to enhance expression 21.3-fold above dCasRx when both are targeted to the start of the 5' untranslated region of mRNA encoding red fluorescent protein in Escherichia coli. Activation of translation is location-dependent, and we show dCasRx-IF3 represses translation when targeted to the ribosomal binding site, rather than enhancing it. We provide evidence that dCasRx-IF3 targeting enhances mRNA stability relative to dCasRx, providing mechanistic insights into how this new tool functions to enhance gene expression. We also demonstrate targeted upregulation of native LacZ 2.6-fold, showing dCasRx-IF3's ability to enhance expression of endogenous genes. dCasRx-IF3 requires no additional host modification to influence gene expression. This work outlines a novel approach, CRISPR-RNAa, for post-transcriptional control of translation to activate gene expression.

Systematic evolution of initiation factor 3 and the ribosomal protein uS12 optimizes Escherichia coli growth with an unconventional initiator tRNA.

The anticodon stem of initiator tRNA (i-tRNA) possesses the characteristic three consecutive GC base pairs (G29:C41, G30:C40, and G31:C39 abbreviated as GC/GC/GC or 3GC pairs) crucial to commencing translation. To understand the importance of this highly conserved element, we isolated two fast-growing suppressors of Escherichia coli sustained solely on an unconventional i-tRNA (i-tRNAcg/GC/cg ) having cg/GC/cg sequence instead of the conventional GC/GC/GC. Both suppressors have the common mutation of V93A in initiation factor 3 (IF3), and additional mutations of either V32L (Sup-1) or H76L (Sup-2) in small subunit ribosomal protein 12 (uS12). The V93A mutation in IF3 was necessary for relaxed fidelity of i-tRNA selection to sustain on i-tRNAcg/GC/cg though with a retarded growth. Subsequent mutations in uS12 salvaged the retarded growth by enhancing the fidelity of translation. The H76L mutation in uS12 showed better fidelity of i-tRNA selection. However, the V32L mutation compensated for the deficient fidelity of i-tRNA selection by ensuring an efficient fidelity check by ribosome recycling factor (RRF). We reveal unique genetic networks between uS12, IF3 and i-tRNA in initiation and between uS12, elongation factor-G (EF-G), RRF, and Pth (peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase) which, taken together, govern the fidelity of translation in bacteria.

The dynamic cycle of bacterial translation initiation factor IF3.

Initiation factor IF3 is an essential protein that enhances the fidelity and speed of bacterial mRNA translation initiation. Here, we describe the dynamic interplay between IF3 domains and their alternative binding sites using pre-steady state kinetics combined with molecular modelling of available structures of initiation complexes. Our results show that IF3 accommodates its domains at velocities ranging over two orders of magnitude, responding to the binding of each 30S ligand. IF1 and IF2 promote IF3 compaction and the movement of the C-terminal domain (IF3C) towards the P site. Concomitantly, the N-terminal domain (IF3N) creates a pocket ready to accept the initiator tRNA. Selection of the initiator tRNA is accompanied by a transient accommodation of IF3N towards the 30S platform. Decoding of the mRNA start codon displaces IF3C away from the P site and rate limits translation initiation. 70S initiation complex formation brings IF3 domains in close proximity to each other prior to dissociation and recycling of the factor for a new round of translation initiation. Altogether, our results describe the kinetic spectrum of IF3 movements and highlight functional transitions of the factor that ensure accurate mRNA translation initiation.

1H, 13C and 15N resonance assignments of translation initiation factor 3 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Translation initiation factor 3 (IF3) is one of the three protein factors that bind to the small ribosomal subunit and it is required for the initiation of protein biosynthesis in bacteria. IF3 contains two independent domains, N- and C-terminal domains, which are connected by a lysine-rich interdomain linker. IF3 undergoes large-scale movements and conformational changes upon binding to the 30S subunit and also during the functional regulation of initiation. However, the precise dynamic interplay of the two domains and the molecular mechanism of IF3 is not well understood. A high-resolution 3D structure of a complete IF3 in bacteria has not been solved. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, is a primary cause of nosocomial infections in humans. Here we report the NMR chemical shift assignments of IF3 from P. aeruginosa as the first step toward NMR structure determination and interaction studies. Secondary structure analyses deduced from the NMR chemical shift data identified nine ß-strands and four α-helices arranged in the sequential order ß1-ß2-α1-ß3-ß4-α2-ß5-α3-ß6-α4-ß7-ß8-ß9.

RbfA and IF3 couple ribosome biogenesis and translation initiation to increase stress tolerance.

Bacterial ribosome biogenesis and translation occur in the same cellular compartment. Therefore, a biochemical gate-keeping step is required to prevent error-prone immature ribosomes from engaging in protein synthesis. Here, we provide evidence for a previously unknown quality control mechanism in which the abundant ribosome assembly factor, RbfA, suppresses protein synthesis by immature Escherichia coli 30S subunits. After 30S maturation, RbfA is displaced by initiation factor 3 (IF3), which promotes translation initiation. Genetic interactions between RbfA and IF3 show that RbfA release by IF3 is important during logarithmic growth as well as during stress encountered during stationary phase, low nutrition, low temperature, and antibiotics. By gating the transition from 30S biogenesis to translation initiation, RbfA and IF3 maintain the fidelity of bacterial protein synthesis.

Ribosome assembly defects subvert initiation Factor3 mediated scrutiny of bona fide start signal.

In bacteria, the assembly factors tightly orchestrate the maturation of ribosomes whose competency for protein synthesis is validated by translation machinery at various stages of translation cycle. However, what transpires to the quality control measures when the ribosomes are produced with assembly defects remains enigmatic. In Escherichia coli, we show that 30S ribosomes that harbour assembly defects due to the lack of assembly factors such as RbfA and KsgA display suboptimal initiation codon recognition and bypass the critical codon-anticodon proofreading steps during translation initiation. These premature ribosomes on entering the translation cycle compromise the fidelity of decoding that gives rise to errors during initiation and elongation. We show that the assembly defects compromise the binding of initiation factor 3 (IF3), which in turn appears to license the rapid transition of 30S (pre) initiation complex to 70S initiation complex by tempering the validation of codon-anticodon interaction during translation initiation. This suggests that the premature ribosomes harbouring the assembly defects subvert the IF3 mediated proofreading of cognate initiation codon to enter the translation cycle.

Aim23p Interacts with the Yeast Mitochondrial Ribosomal Small Subunit.

Protein synthesis in mitochondria is generally organized in a bacterial-like manner but, at the same time, possesses several unique traits. Translation initiation in mitochondria is regulated by two protein factors, mtIF2 and mtIF3. Previously we demonstrated that Saccharomyces cerevisiae Aim23 protein is an ortholog of IF3 in budding yeast. However, the data on the interactions between Aim23p and other proteins are limited. Here, we demonstrated that Aim23p interacts with the yeast mitochondrial ribosomal small subunit both in vivo and in vitro using co-immunoprecipitation and density gradient sedimentation.

Biological and Evolutionary Significance of Terminal Extensions of Mitochondrial Translation Initiation Factor 3.

Protein biosynthesis in mitochondria is organized in a bacterial manner. However, during evolution, mitochondrial translation mechanisms underwent many organelle-specific changes. In particular, almost all mitochondrial translation factors, being orthologous to bacterial proteins, are characterized by some unique elements of primary or secondary structure. In the case of the organellar initiation factor 3 (IF3), these elements are several dozen amino acids long N- and C-terminal extensions. This study focused on the terminal extensions of baker's yeast mitochondrial IF3, Aim23p. By in vivo deletion and complementation analysis, we show that at least one extension is necessary for Aim23p function. At the same time, human mitochondrial IF3 is fully functional in yeast mitochondria even without both terminal extensions. While Escherichia coli IF3 itself is poorly active in yeast mitochondria, adding Aim23p terminal extensions makes the resulting chimeric protein as functional as the cognate factor. Our results show that the terminal extensions of IF3 have evolved as the "adaptors" that accommodate the translation factor of bacterial origin to the evolutionary changed protein biosynthesis system in mitochondria.

Strawberry Vein Banding Virus P6 Protein Is a Translation Trans-Activator and Its Activity Can be Suppressed by FveIF3g.

The strawberry vein banding virus (SVBV) open reading frame (ORF) VI encodes a P6 protein known as the RNA silencing suppressor. This protein is known to form inclusion like granules of various sizes and accumulate in both the nuclei and the cytoplasm of SVBV-infected plant cells. In this study, we have determined that the P6 protein is the only trans-activator (TAV) encoded by SVBV, and can efficiently trans-activate the translation of downstream gfp mRNA in a bicistron derived from the SVBV. Furthermore, the P6 protein can trans-activate the expression of different bicistrons expressed by different caulimovirus promoters. The P6 protein encoded by SVBV from an infectious clone can also trans-activate the expression of bicistron. Through protein-protein interaction assays, we determined that the P6 protein could interact with the cell translation initiation factor FveIF3g of Fragaria vesca and co-localize with it in the nuclei of Nicotiana benthamiana cells. This interaction reduced the formation of P6 granules in cells and its trans-activation activity on translation.

Fidelity of translation in the presence of mammalian mitochondrial initiation factor 3.

Initiation factor 3 (IF3) is a conserved translation factor. Mutations in mitochondrial IF3 (IF3mt) have been implicated in disease pathology. Escherichia coli infCΔ55, compromised for IF3 activity, has provided an excellent heterologous system for IF3mt structure-function analysis. IF3mt allowed promiscuous initiation from AUA, AUU and ACG codons but avoided initiation with initiator tRNAs lacking the conserved 3GC pairs in their anticodon stems. Expression of IF3mt N-terminal domain, or IF3mt devoid of its typical N-, and C-terminal extensions improved fidelity of initiation in E. coli. The observations suggest that the IF3mt terminal extensions relax the fidelity of translational initiation in mitochondria.

The kinetic mechanism of bacterial ribosome recycling.

Bacterial ribosome recycling requires breakdown of the post-termination complex (PoTC), comprising a messenger RNA (mRNA) and an uncharged transfer RNA (tRNA) cognate to the terminal mRNA codon bound to the 70S ribosome. The translation factors, elongation factor G and ribosome recycling factor, are known to be required for recycling, but there is controversy concerning whether these factors act primarily to effect the release of mRNA and tRNA from the ribosome, with the splitting of the ribosome into subunits being somewhat dispensable, or whether their main function is to catalyze the splitting reaction, which necessarily precedes mRNA and tRNA release. Here, we utilize three assays directly measuring the rates of mRNA and tRNA release and of ribosome splitting in several model PoTCs. Our results largely reconcile these previously held views. We demonstrate that, in the absence of an upstream Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence, PoTC breakdown proceeds in the order: mRNA release followed by tRNA release and then by 70S splitting. By contrast, in the presence of an SD sequence all three processes proceed with identical apparent rates, with the splitting step likely being rate-determining. Our results are consistent with ribosome profiling results demonstrating the influence of upstream SD-like sequences on ribosome occupancy at or just before the mRNA stop codon.

Translational Control of the SigR-Directed Oxidative Stress Response in Streptomyces via IF3-Mediated Repression of a Noncanonical GTC Start Codon.

The major oxidative stress response in Streptomyces is controlled by the sigma factor SigR and its cognate antisigma factor RsrA, and SigR activity is tightly controlled through multiple mechanisms at both the transcriptional and posttranslational levels. Here we show that sigR has a highly unusual GTC start codon and that this leads to another level of SigR regulation, in which SigR translation is repressed by translation initiation factor 3 (IF3). Changing the GTC to a canonical start codon causes SigR to be overproduced relative to RsrA, resulting in unregulated and constitutive expression of the SigR regulon. Similarly, introducing IF3* mutations that impair its ability to repress SigR translation has the same effect. Thus, the noncanonical GTC sigR start codon and its repression by IF3 are critical for the correct and proper functioning of the oxidative stress regulatory system. sigR and rsrA are cotranscribed and translationally coupled, and it had therefore been assumed that SigR and RsrA are produced in stoichiometric amounts. Here we show that RsrA can be transcribed and translated independently of SigR, present evidence that RsrA is normally produced in excess of SigR, and describe the factors that determine SigR-RsrA stoichiometry.IMPORTANCE In all sigma factor-antisigma factor regulatory switches, the relative abundance of the two proteins is critical to the proper functioning of the system. Many sigma-antisigma operons are cotranscribed and translationally coupled, leading to a generic assumption that the sigma and antisigma factors are produced in a fixed 1:1 ratio. In the case of sigR-rsrA, we show instead that the antisigma factor is produced in excess over the sigma factor, providing a buffer to prevent spurious release of sigma activity. This excess arises in part because sigR has an extremely rare noncanonical GTC start codon, and as a result, SigR translation initiation is repressed by IF3. This finding highlights the potential significance of noncanonical start codons, very few of which have been characterized experimentally. It also emphasizes the limitations of predicting start codons using bioinformatic approaches, which rely heavily on the assumption that ATG, GTG, and TTG are the only permissible start codons.

Chemical and structural characterization of a model Post-Termination Complex (PoTC) for the ribosome recycling reaction: Evidence for the release of the mRNA by RRF and EF-G.

A model Post-Termination Complex (PoTC) used for the discovery of Ribosome Recycling Factor (RRF) was purified and characterized by cryo-electron microscopic analysis and biochemical methods. We established that the model PoTC has mostly one tRNA, at the P/E or P/P position, together with one mRNA. The structural studies were supported by the biochemical measurement of bound tRNA and mRNA. Using this substrate, we establish that the release of tRNA, release of mRNA and splitting of ribosomal subunits occur during the recycling reaction. Order of these events is tRNA release first followed by mRNA release and splitting almost simultaneously. Moreover, we demonstrate that IF3 is not involved in any of the recycling reactions but simply prevents the re-association of split ribosomal subunits. Our finding demonstrates that the important function of RRF includes the release of mRNA, which is often missed by the use of a short ORF with the Shine-Dalgarno sequence near the termination site.

Contributions of the N- and C-Terminal Domains of Initiation Factor 3 to Its Functions in the Fidelity of Initiation and Antiassociation of the Ribosomal Subunits.

Initiation factor 3 (IF3) is one of the three conserved prokaryotic translation initiation factors essential for protein synthesis and cellular survival. Bacterial IF3 is composed of a conserved architecture of globular N- and C-terminal domains (NTD and CTD) joined by a linker region. IF3 is a ribosome antiassociation factor which also modulates selection of start codon and initiator tRNA. All the functions of IF3 have been attributed to its CTD by in vitro studies. However, the in vivo relevance of these findings has not been investigated. By generating complete and partial IF3 (infC) knockouts in Escherichia coli and by complementation analyses using various deletion constructs, we show that while the CTD is essential for E. coli survival, the NTD is not. Polysome profiles reaffirm that CTD alone can bind to the 30S ribosomal subunit and carry out the ribosome antiassociation function. Importantly, in the absence of the NTD, bacterial growth is compromised, indicating a role for the NTD in the fitness of cellular growth. Using reporter assays for in vivo initiation, we show that the NTD plays a crucial role in the fidelity function of IF3 by avoiding (i) initiation from non-AUG codons and (ii) initiation by initiator tRNAs lacking the three highly conserved consecutive GC pairs (in the anticodon stem) known to function in concert with IF3.IMPORTANCE Initiation factor 3 regulates the fidelity of eubacterial translation initiation by ensuring the formation of an initiation complex with an mRNA bearing a canonical start codon and with an initiator tRNA at the ribosomal P site. Additionally, IF3 prevents premature association of the 50S ribosomal subunit with the 30S preinitiation complex. The significance of our work in Escherichia coli is in demonstrating that while the C-terminal domain alone sustains E. coli for its growth, the N-terminal domain adds to the fidelity of initiation of protein synthesis and to the fitness of the bacterial growth.

Two highly conserved features of bacterial initiator tRNAs license them to pass through distinct checkpoints in translation initiation.

Eubacterial translation initiation involves assembly of tRNAfMet, mRNA, initiation factors (IFs) and 30S ribosome in a 30S pre-initiation complex (30S pre-IC), which rearranges and joins 50S ribosome to form 70S IC. Upon releasing IFs, 70S IC becomes elongation-competent 70S. The direct recruitment of initiator tRNA (tRNAfMet) into the ribosomal P-site, crucial in accurate initiation of translation, is attributed to two conserved features of tRNAfMet: (i) formylation of amino acid attached to it and, (ii) the presence of three consecutive G-C base pairs (3GC base pairs) in the anticodon stem. However, the precise roles of these two conserved features of tRNAfMet during the various steps of initiation remain unclear. Using natural and engineered tRNAs, we show that the 3GC pairs license tRNAfMet transitions from 30S to 70S IC and then to elongation-competent 70S by release of IF3. Of the 3GC pairs, the middle GC pair (G30-C40), or merely G30 (in a specific context) suffices in this role and is essential for the sustenance of Escherichia coli. Furthermore, rescue of formylase deficient E. coli by overproduced tRNAfMet reveals that the feature of formylation licenses initial targeting of tRNAfMet to 30S ribosome