Mutations in conserved regions of ribosomal RNAs decrease the productive association of peptide-chain release factors with the ribosome during translation termination.

Early studies provided evidence that peptide-chain release factors (RFs) bind to both ribosomal subunits and trigger translation termination. Although many ribosomal proteins have been implicated in termination, very few data present direct biochemical evidence for the involvement of rRNA. Particularly absent is direct evidence for a role of a large subunit rRNA in RF binding. Previously we demonstrated in vitro that mutations in Escherichia coli rRNAs, known to cause nonsense codon readthrough in vivo, reduce the efficiency of RF2-driven catalysis of peptidyl-tRNA hydrolysis. This reduction was consistent with the idea that in vivo defective termination at the mutant ribosomes contributes to the readthrough. Nevertheless, other explanations were also possible, because still missing was essential biochemical evidence for that idea, namely, decrease in productive association of RFs with the mutant ribosomes. Here we present such evidence using a new realistic in vitro termination assay. This study directly supports in vivo involvement in termination of conserved rRNA regions that also participate in other translational events. Furthermore, this study provides the first strong evidence for involvement of large subunit rRNA in RF binding, indicating that the same rRNA region interacts with factors that determine both elongation and termination of translation.

Ribosomal RNAs in translation termination: facts and hypotheses.

It is now well established that ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) play an active role in every aspect of translation. This review focuses on recent evidence for the involvement of rRNAs from both subunits of the ribosome in translation termination. This evidence comprises data obtained with rRNA mutants both in vivo and in vitro. In particular, mutations in specific regions of rRNAs caused readthrough of nonsense codons in vivo. Consistent with their in vivo characteristics, the mutations decreased the productive association of the ribosome with release factor 2 (RF2) and the efficiency of catalysis of peptidyl-tRNA hydrolysis in the presence of RF2 in realistic in vitro termination systems. It is now evident that genetic selections for termination-defective mutants in vivo and their characterization in realistic in vitro termination assays will rapidly advance our understanding of the mechanism of termination.

An rRNA fragment and its antisense can alter decoding of genetic information.

rRNA plays a central role in protein synthesis and is intimately involved in the initiation, elongation, and termination stages of translation. However, the mode of its participation in these reactions, particularly as to the decoding of genetic information, remains elusive. In this paper, we describe a new approach that allowed us to identify an rRNA segment whose function is likely to be related to translation termination. By screening an expression library of random rRNA fragments, we identified a fragment of the Escherichia coli 23S rRNA (nucleotides 74 to 136) whose expression caused readthrough of UGA nonsense mutations in certain codon contexts in vivo. The antisense RNA fragment produced a similar effect, but in neither case was readthrough of UAA or UAG observed. Since termination at UGA in E. coli specifically requires release factor 2 (RF2), our data suggest that the fragments interfere with RF2-dependent termination.

Mutations in RNAs of both ribosomal subunits cause defects in translation termination.

Mutations in RNAs of both subunits of the Escherichia coli ribosome caused defects in catalysis of peptidyl-tRNA hydrolysis in a realistic in vitro termination system. Assaying the two codon-dependent cytoplasmic proteins that drive termination, RF1 and RF2, we observed large defects with RF2 but not with RF1, a result consistent with the in vivo properties of the mutants. Our study presents the first direct in vitro evidence demonstrating the involvement of RNAs from both the large and the small ribosomal subunits in catalysis of peptidyl-tRNA hydrolysis during termination of protein biosynthesis. The results and conclusions are of general significance since the rRNA nucleotides studied have been virtually universally conserved throughout evolution. Our findings suggest a novel role for rRNAs of both subunits as molecular transmitters of a signal for termination.

Variety of nonsense suppressor phenotypes associated with mutational changes at conserved sites in Escherichia coli ribosomal RNA.

To screen for ribosomal RNA mutants defective in peptide chain termination, we have been looking for rRNA mutants that exhibit different patterns of suppression of nonsense mutations and that do not suppress missense mutations at the same positions in the same reporter gene. The rRNA mutations were induced by segment-directed randomly mutagenic PCR treatment of a cloned rrnB operon, followed by subcloning of the mutagenesis products and transformation of strains containing different nonsense mutations in the Escherichia coli trpA gene. To date, we have repeatedly obtained only two small sets of mutations, one in the 3' domain of 16S rRNA, at five nucleotides out of the 610 mutagenized (two in helix 34 and three in helix 44), and the other in 23S rRNA at only four neighboring nucleotide positions (in a highly conserved hexanucleotide loop) within the 1.4 kb mutagenized segment. There is variety, however, in the suppression patterns of the mutants, ranging from suppression of UAG or UGA, through suppression of UAG and UGA, but not UAA, to suppression of all three termination codons. The two helices in 16S rRNA have previously been associated both physically and functionally with the decoding center of the ribosome. The 23S region is part of the binding site for the large subunit protein L11 and the antibiotic thiostrepton, both of which have been shown to affect peptide chain termination. Finally, we have demonstrated that the 23S mutant A1093, which suppresses trpA UGA mutations very efficiently, is lethal at temperatures above 36 degrees C (when highly expressed). This lethality is overcome by secondary 23S rRNA mutations in domain V. Our results suggest that specific regions of 16S and 23S rRNA are involved in peptide chain termination, that the lethality of A1093 is caused by high-level UGA suppression, and that intramolecular interaction between domains II and V of 23S rRNA may play a role in peptide chain termination at the UGA stop codon.

5' contexts of Escherichia coli and human termination codons are similar.

The nearest 5' context of 2559 human stop codons was analysed in comparison with the same context of stop-like codons (UGG, UGC, UGU, CGA for UGA; CAA, UAU, UAC for UAA; and UGG, UAU, UAC, CAG for UAG). The non-random distribution of some nucleotides upstream of the stop codons was observed. For instance, uridine is over-represented in position -3 upstream of UAG. Several codons were shown to be over-represented immediately upstream of the stop codons: UUU(Phe), AGC(Ser), and the Lys and Ala codon families before UGA; AAG(Lys), GCG(Ala), and the Ser and Leu codon families before UAA; and UCA(Ser), AUG(Met), and the Phe codon family before UAG. In contrast, the Thr and Gly codon families were under-represented before UGA, while ACC(Thr) and the Gly codon family were under-represented before UAG and UAA respectively. In an earlier study, uridine was shown to be over-represented in position -3 before UGA in Escherichia coli [Arkov,A.L., Korolev,S.V. and Kisselev,L.L. (1993) Nucleic Acids Res., 21,2891-2897]. In that study, the codons for Lys, Phe and Ser were shown to be over-represented immediately upstream of E. coli stop codons. Consequently, E. coli and human termination codons have similar 5' contexts. The present study suggests that the 5' context of stop codons may modulate the efficiency of peptide chain termination and (or) stop codon readthrough in higher eukaryotes, and that the mechanisms of such a modulation in prokaryotes and higher eukaryotes may be very similar.

Mutations at three sites in the Escherichia coli 23S ribosomal RNA binding region for protein L11 cause UGA-specific suppression and conditional lethality.

A single nucleotide change, G to A, at nucleotide position 1093 of E. coli 23S ribosomal RNA was found to cause UGA-specific suppression (D.K. Jemiolo, F.T. Pagel and E.J. Murgola, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, in press). To obtain new kinds of UGA-specific suppressors in 23S rRNA, we used segment-directed mutagenic PCR, and targeted first the 1405 nucleotide SnaBI/I-CeuI segment, which includes position 1093, of the rrnB operon cloned into a multicopy plasmid. The mutagenized fragments were subcloned into the plasmid vector and used to transform to ampicillin resistance (Ampr) a recipient strain containing a UGA mutation in trpA. The Ampr transformants were then screened for suppression of UGA. After purification, Trp+ transformants were tested for association of the suppressor phenotype first with the plasmid and then specifically with the SnaBI/I-CeuI fragment. In one screening, four different kinds of mutational change were found, all at three sites within a highly conserved hexanucleotide loop in domain II of 23S rRNA. This region is part of the site for binding of the large subunit protein L11, which has been shown to be involved in peptide chain termination in a specific way. All of the mutants (G1093A, G1093 delta, A1095 delta, and U1097 delta) suppress UGA mutations, but not UAA or UAG mutations, and all four types exhibit high-temperature conditional lethality when highly expressed. Several mechanisms can be suggested for the UGA-specific suppression exhibited by these mutants, including altered interaction with protein L11, Second-site mutations that overcome the conditional lethality of G1093A indicate that intramolecular interactions within 23S rRNA may play a role in peptide chain termination at the UGA stop codon.

Termination of translation in bacteria may be modulated via specific interaction between peptide chain release factor 2 and the last peptidyl-tRNA(Ser/Phe).

The 5' context of 671 Escherichia coli stop codons UGA and UAA has been compared with the context of stop-like codons (UAC, UAU and CAA for UAA; UGG, UGC, UGU and CGA for UGA). We have observed highly significant deviations from the expected nucleotide distribution: adenine is over-represented whereas pyrimidines are under-represented in position -2 upstream from UAA. Uridine is over-represented in position -3 upstream from UGA. Lysine codons are preferable immediately prior to UAA. A complete set of codons for serine and the phenylalanine UUC codon are preferable immediately 5' to UGA. This non-random codon distribution before stop codons could be considered as a molecular device for modulation of translation termination. We have found that certain fragment of E. coli release factor 2 (RF2) (amino acids 93-114) is similar to the amino acid sequences of seryl-tRNA synthetase (positions 10-19 and 80-93) and of beta (small) subunit (positions 72-94) of phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase from E. coli. Three-dimensional structure of E. coli seryl-tRNA synthetase is known [1]: Its N-terminus represents an antiparallel alpha-helical coiled-coil domain and contains a region homologous to RF2. On the basis of the above-mentioned results we assume that a specific interaction between RF2 and the last peptidyl-tRNA(Ser/Phe) occurs during polypeptide chain termination in prokaryotic ribosomes.