Dwell-Time Distribution, Long Pausing and Arrest of Single-Ribosome Translation through the mRNA Duplex

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Ping Xie¹ 

[1] Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Physics and Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; E-Mail

关键词: ribosome;    translation;    tRNA–mRNA translocation;    mRNA unwinding;    molecular machine;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms161023723

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Proteins in the cell are synthesized by a ribosome translating the genetic information encoded on the single-stranded messenger RNA (mRNA). It has been shown that the ribosome can also translate through the duplex region of the mRNA by unwinding the duplex. Here, based on our proposed model of the ribosome translation through the mRNA duplex we study theoretically the distribution of dwell times of the ribosome translation through the mRNA duplex under the effect of a pulling force externally applied to the ends of the mRNA to unzip the duplex. We provide quantitative explanations of the available single molecule experimental data on the distribution of dwell times with both short and long durations, on rescuing of the long paused ribosomes by raising the pulling force to unzip the duplex, on translational arrests induced by the mRNA duplex and Shine-Dalgarno(SD)-like sequence in the mRNA. The functional consequences of the pauses or arrests caused by the mRNA duplex and the SD sequence are discussed and compared with those obtained from other types of pausing, such as those induced by “hungry” codons or interactions of specific sequences in the nascent chain with the ribosomal exit tunnel.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.