PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Peptide Elongation Factor Tu”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Divergent effects of fluoroaluminates on the peptide chain elongation factors EF-Tu and EF-G as members of the GTPase superfamily.

Fluoraluminates are thought to mimic the gamma-phosphate of GTP and thus, together with GDP, perturb the functioning of heterotrimeric GTP-binding G-proteins. Here we show they do inhibit the ribosome-stimulated GTPase activity of EF-G from Escherichia coli via the formation of a stable complex with EF-G-GDP and ribosomes. In contrast, no perturbed interactions were observed in a similar ribosomal complex with EF-Tu. Interestingly, in the absence of ribosomes both EF-Tu an EF-G remain totally unaffected by fluoraluminates. For members of the GTPase superfamily such differential effects have not been described before.

1-Propanol↗

Formation of the ternary complex EF-Tu.GTP.Phe-tRNA in the translation system of Streptomyces aureofaciens.

The efficiency of formation of the ternary complex consisting of the elongation factor Tu and Phe-tRNA's from Escherichia coli and Streptomyces aureofaciens was tested to explain the lower activity of the in vitro poly(U) translation system from S. aureofaciens. Both factors were shown to be functionally interchangeable in the ternary complex formation with Phe-tRNA from either E. coli or S. aureofaciens. However, the efficiency of binding of S. aureofaciens Phe-tRNA to EF-Tu was much lower with both factors.

Guanosine Triphosphate↗

Recognition of termination codon by release factor in the presence of a tRNA-occupied A site. Evidence for flexibility in accommodation of the release factor on the ribosome.

Recognition of the termination codon by release factor was studied with 70 S ribosomes containing initiator tRNA at the P site and an amino acid-specifying codon as well as the corresponding cognate tRNA at the A site. In vitro termination was not excluded when either the A site was occupied with an amino acid-specifying codon or the termination codon was displaced from the A site codon position by spacer nucleotides between UAA and the P site bound AUG. The release factor may have flexibility in its codon recognizing domain to be able to adjust to this enforced change in the position of the termination codon on the ribosome without loss of functional specificity. Deacylated tRNA bound at the A site of 70 S ribosomes did not interfere with stoichiometric UAA-directed release factor binding to these particles. In contrast, a ternary complex (aminoacyl-tRNA elongation factor-Tu . GTP) abolished the binding of the release factor while aminoacyl-tRNA inhibited it only weakly. This suggests that release factor and elongation factor-Tu have overlapping binding sites but the A site binding domains of the release factor and tRNA are exclusive.

Codon↗

Is tRNA binding or tRNA mimicry mandatory for translation factors?

tRNA is the adaptor in the translation process. The ribosome has three sites for tRNA, the A-, P-, and E-sites. The tRNAs bridge between the ribosomal subunits with the decoding site and the mRNA on the small or 30S subunit and the peptidyl transfer site on the large or 50S subunit. The possibility that translation release factors could mimic tRNA has been discussed for a long time, since their function is very similar to that of tRNA. They identify stop codons of the mRNA presented in the decoding site and hydrolyse the nascent peptide from the peptidyl tRNA in the peptidyl transfer site. The structures of eubacterial release factors are not yet known, and the first example of tRNA mimicry was discovered when elongation factor G (EF-G) was found to have a closely similar shape to a complex of elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) with aminoacyl-tRNA. An even closer imitation of the tRNA shape is seen in ribosome recycling factor (RRF). The number of proteins mimicking tRNA is rapidly increasing. This primarily concerns translation factors. It is now evident that in some sense they are either tRNA mimics, GTPases or possibly both.

Molecular Mimicry↗

Histidine residues in elongation factor EF-tu from Escherichia coli protected by aminoacyl-tRNA against photo-oxidation.

Complexes of Escherichia coli elongation factor EF-Tu with GTP or GTP and aminoacyl-tRNA were photo-oxidized by irradiation with visible light in the presence of rose bengal dye. EF-Tu was isolated, digested with trypsin, the resulting tryptic peptides were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the position of most of the peptides on the chromatogram was determined. Irradiation of complexes resulted in the inactivation of the factor (as tested by its capacity to interact with aminoacyl-tRNA) and was accompanied by the loss of its histidine residues (as revealed by amino acid analysis) and by the decrease in the amount of some tryptic peptides (as detected by HPLC). Aminoacyl-tRNA, bound to EF-Tu during the irradiation, protected the protein from inactivation, from the loss of histidine residues and some of its peptides from photo-oxidative degradation. Comparison of quantities of individual tryptic peptides recovered from the irradiated EF-Tu X GTP X aminoacyl-tRNA complex with those from the irradiated EF-Tu X GTP complex revealed that histidine-containing peptides T12 and T15 as well as methionine-containing peptide T14 were in the ternary complex markedly protected against the photo-oxidative degradation. This finding suggests that their histidines, i.e. His-66 and His-118 respectively and at least one of the methionines (Met-91, 98 or 112) present in peptide T14 are located near to or at the binding site of EF-Tu for aminoacyl-tRNA and could be involved in the interaction between aminoacyl-tRNA and the factor.

Alkylation↗

Transfer ribonucleic acid deprived of the C-C-A 3'-extremity can interact with elongation factor Tu.

In this work we describe that uncharged tRNAs or modified tRNAs lacking all or part of the C-C-A end (i.e., tRNA minus pCpCpA, tRNA minus pA, and tRNA minus A) can still influence the GTPase activity of the elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu), thus showing that, besides the aminoacylated 3'-end, other regions of the aa-tRNA interact with EF-Tu. The existence of an interaction between EF-Tu and truncated tRNAs was also confirmed by examining the dissociation of the EF-Tu-GTP complex: the rate of this reaction is decreased upon addition of tRNAVal1 minus pCpCpA. The effect on the EF-Tu GTPase activity of tRNAs deprived of the C-C-A 3'-end is still evident in the presence of C-C-A-aa. The stimulatory pattern obtained with C-C-A-Val at 5 mM MgCl2 is decreased upon addition of tRNAVal1 minus pCpCpA, tRNAVal1 minus pA, or tRNAVal1 minus A. This shows that the effect of the aminoacylated C-C-A 3'-end can be influenced via EF-Tu by the remaining regions of the tRNA, after cleavage of a bond in the 3'-extremity. However, also with an excess of tRNAVal1 minus pCpCpA over C-C-A-Val, no "aa-tRNA-like" effect, i.e., no inhibition of the EF-Tu GTPase, was obtained, suggesting that, upon binding with EF-Tu, a specific conformational change in the aa-tRNA molecule also takes place, regulating the expression of the GTPase activity. Our results unequivocally show that different regions of the aa-tRNA are needed for a coordinated interaction with EF-Tu.

Base Sequence↗

Purification of Euglena gracilis chloroplast elongation factor Ts.

Previous studies have demonstrated that the activity of Euglena gracilis chloroplast elongation factor Ts is regulated by light and the gene for this factor is nuclear coded (Fox, L., Erion, J., Tarnowski, J., Spremulli, L., Brot, N., and Weissbach, H., J. Biol. Chem. (1980) 255, 6018-6019). Chloroplast elongation factor Ts has been purified to near homogeneity from E. gracilis extracts prepared from light-grown cells. It is composed of a single polypeptide chain of approximately 62,000 daltons. It interacts stoichiometrically with Escherichia coli elongation factor Tu to form an elongation factor Tu.elongation factor Ts complex.

Bacterial Proteins↗

The ribosome as affinity matrix': efficient purification scheme for translation factors.

A convenient method to purify each of the non-ribosomal proteins required to translate a native mRNA in vitro is described. In this scheme, the ribosome is used as an 'affinity' matrix to selectively elute the non-ribosomal proteins required for translation that are bound to these particles. Different sets of these proteins can be eluted with solutions of Mg2+ and NH4+ of various concentrations from either 70S, or 30S and 50S particles. A scheme for the purification of each initiation, elongation and release factor and 20 aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases is described. Specific examples of the purification of the initiation (IF-1, IF-2, IF-3) and elongation (EF-Tu and EF-G) factors and for a protein called 'rescue', which affects the association of native ribosomal subunits, are given. A scheme for the purification of EF-P, which stimulates peptide-bond synthesis and one of the W proteins, which permit reconstitution of translation is also described. The procedure markedly simplifies the isolation, in homogeneous form, of all the non-ribosomal proteins required to reconstruct translation.

Amino Acyl-tRNA Synthetases↗

Mutants of the elongation factor EF-Tu, a new class of nonsense suppressors.

Read-through of nonsense codons has been studied in wild-type Escherichia coli cells and in cells harbouring mutant species of the elongation factor EF-Tu. The two phenomena differ essentially. Readthrough of UGA in wild-type cells is reduced by inactivation of tufB but is restored to the original level by introducing into the cell plasmid-borne EF-Tu. This shows that the natural UGA leakiness is dependent on the intracellular concentration of EF-Tu. Strains of E. coli harbouring mutant species of the elongation factor EF-Tu suppress the nonsense codons UAG, UAA and UGA. Suppression shows a codon context dependence. It requires the combined action of two different EF-Tu species: EF-TuAR(Ala 375----Thr) and EF-TuBo(Gly 222----Asp). Cells harbouring EF-TuAR(Ala 375----Thr) and wild-type EF-TuB, or wild-type EF-TuA and EF-TuBo(Gly 222----Asp) do not display suppressor activity. These data demonstrate that mutated tuf genes form an additional class of nonsense suppressors. The requirement for two different mutant EF-Tu species raises the question whether translation of sense codons also occurs by the combined action of two EF-Tu molecules on the ribosome.

Base Sequence↗

Oversynthesis of elongation factors G and Tu in Escherichia coli.

We induced the oversynthesis of elongation factors Tu and G by using multicopy plasmids carrying the structural genes for these proteins under the control of the lac operator-promoter. We found no evidence that accumulation of excess elongation factor Tu or G affects the expression of genes for ribosomal proteins or elongation factors.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Structure-based sequence alignment of elongation factors Tu and G with related GTPases involved in translation.

The G domain and domain II in the crystal structure of Thermus thermophilus elongation factor G (EF-G) were compared with the homologous domains in Thermus aquaticus elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu). Sequence alignment derived from the structural superposition was used to define conserved sequence elements in domain II. These elements and previously known conserved sequence elements in the G domain were used to guide the alignment of the sequences of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius elongation factor 2, human elongation factor 2, and Escherichia coli initiation factor 2 and release factor 3 to the aligned sequences of EF-G and EF-Tu. This alignment, which deviates from previously published alignments, has evolutionary implications and leads to alternative interpretations of biochemical data concerning the interaction of elongation factors with the alpha-sarcin/ricin region of the ribosome. A single conserved sequence motif in domain II was identified and used to further characterize the GTPase subfamily of translation factors and related proteins. It was shown that the motif is found in most if not all the members of the family. Apparently, the common characteristic of these GTPases is an extensive consensus structural unit that possibly accounts for a similar interaction with the ribosome and is composed of two domains homologous to the G domain and domain II in EF-Tu and EF-G.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Bulk preparation and crystallization of the Escherichia coli elongation factor Tu-Ts complex.

A simple procedure for the preparation of 10-500 mg of the Escherichia coli elongation Tu-Ts complex is described. The protocol is based on the separate purification and quantitation of EF-Tu-GDP and EF-Ts, followed by mixing of equimolar amounts of each protein and removal of the displaced GDP by dialysis. Single crystals grown from the final product have been analyzed by X-ray diffraction techniques. The procedure is also applicable to the bulk preparation and crystallization of the trypsin-modified Tu-Ts complex. Quantitation of the elongation factors by three methods is presented.

Chromatography, Gel↗

An A to U transversion at position 1067 of 23 S rRNA from Escherichia coli impairs EF-Tu and EF-G function.

Escherichia coli ribosomes with an A to U transversion at nucleotide 1067 of their 23 S rRNA are impaired in their effective association rate constants (kcat/KM) for both EF-Tu and EF-G binding. In addition, the times that EF-G and EF-Tu spend on the ribosome during elongation are significantly increased by the A to U transversion. The U1067 mutation impairs EF-Tu function more than EF-G function. The increase in the time that EF-Tu remains bound to ribosome is caused, both by a slower rate of GTP-hydrolysis in ternary complex and by a slower EF-Tu.GDP release from the mutated ribosomes. There is, at the same time, no change in ribosomal accuracy for aminoacyl-tRNA recognition. With support from these new data we propose that nucleotide 1067 is part of the ribosomal A-site where it directly interacts with both EF-G and EF-Tu.

Adenine↗

Mutations in ribosomal proteins L7/L12 perturb EF-G and EF-Tu functions.

In vitro cycling rates of E. coli ribosomes and of elongation factors EF-Tu and EF-G have been obtained and these are compatible with translation rates in vivo. We show that the rate of translocation is faster than 50 s-1 and therefore that the EF-G function is not a rate limiting step in protein synthesis. The in vivo phenotype of some L7/L12 mutants could be accounted for by perturbed EF-Tu as well as EF-G functions. The S12 mutants that we studied were, in contrast, only perturbed in their EF-Tu function, while their EF-G interaction was not impaired in relation to wild type ribosomes.

Bacterial Proteins↗