Dom34 Rescues Ribosomes in 3′ Untranslated Regions

SummaryRibosomes that stall before completing peptide synthesis must be recycled and returned to the cytoplasmic pool. The protein Dom34 and cofactors Hbs1 and Rli1 can dissociate stalled ribosomes in vitro, but the identity of targets in the cell is unknown. Here, we extend ribosome profiling methodology to reveal a high-resolution molecular characterization of Dom34 function in vivo. Dom34 removes stalled ribosomes from truncated mRNAs, but, in contrast, does not generally dissociate ribosomes on coding sequences known to trigger stalling, such as polyproline. We also show that Dom34 targets arrested ribosomes near the ends of 3′ UTRs. These ribosomes appear to gain access to the 3′ UTR via a mechanism that does not require decoding of the mRNA. These results suggest that ribosomes frequently enter downstream noncoding regions and that Dom34 carries out the important task of rescuing them

Regulated Ire1-dependent mRNA decay requires no-go mRNA degradation to maintain endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis in S. pombe.

The unfolded protein response (UPR) monitors and adjusts the protein folding capacity of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In S. pombe, the ER membrane-resident kinase/endoribonuclease Ire1 utilizes a mechanism of selective degradation of ER-bound mRNAs (RIDD) to maintain homeostasis. We used a genetic screen to identify factors critical to the Ire1-mediated UPR and found several proteins, Dom34, Hbs1 and Ski complex subunits, previously implicated in ribosome rescue and mRNA no-go-decay (NGD). Ribosome profiling in ER-stressed cells lacking these factors revealed that Ire1-mediated cleavage of ER-associated mRNAs results in ribosome stalling and mRNA degradation. Stalled ribosomes iteratively served as a ruler to template precise, regularly spaced upstream mRNA cleavage events. This clear signature uncovered hundreds of novel target mRNAs. Our results reveal that the UPR in S. pombe executes RIDD in an intricate interplay between Ire1, translation, and the NGD pathway, and establish a critical role for NGD in maintaining ER homeostasis

Regulated Ire1-dependent mRNA decay requires no-go mRNA degradation to maintain endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis in S. Pombe

The unfolded protein response (UPR) monitors and adjusts the protein folding capacity of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In S. pombe, the ER membrane-resident kinase/endoribonuclease Ire1 utilizes a mechanism of selective degradation of ER-bound mRNAs (RIDD) to maintain homeostasis. We used a genetic screen to identify factors critical to the Ire1-mediated UPR and found several proteins, Dom34, Hbs1 and Ski complex subunits, previously implicated in ribosome rescue and mRNA no-go-decay (NGD). Ribosome profiling in ER-stressed cells lacking these factors revealed that Ire1-mediated cleavage of ER-associated mRNAs results in ribosome stalling and mRNA degradation. Stalled ribosomes iteratively served as a ruler to template precise, regularly spaced upstream mRNA cleavage events. This clear signature uncovered hundreds of novel target mRNAs. Our results reveal that the UPR in S. pombe executes RIDD in an intricate interplay between Ire1, translation, and the NGD pathway, and establish a critical role for NGD in maintaining ER homeostasis

High-Precision Analysis of Translational Pausing by Ribosome Profiling in Bacteria Lacking EFP

Ribosome profiling is a powerful method for globally assessing the activity of ribosomes in a cell. Despite its application in many organisms, ribosome profiling studies in bacteria have struggled to obtain the resolution necessary to precisely define translational pauses. Here, we report improvements that yield much higher resolution in E. coli profiling data, enabling us to more accurately assess ribosome pausing and refine earlier studies of the impact of polyproline motifs on elongation. We comprehensively characterize pausing at proline-rich motifs in the absence of elongation factor EFP. We find that only a small fraction of genes with strong pausing motifs have reduced ribosome density downstream, and we identify features that explain this phenomenon. These features allow us to predict which proteins likely have reduced output in the efp-knockout strain

Context-specific action of macrolide antibiotics on the eukaryotic ribosome

Macrolide antibiotics bind in the nascent peptide exit tunnel of the bacterial ribosome and prevent polymerization of specific amino acid sequences, selectively inhibiting translation of a subset of proteins. Because preventing translation of individual proteins could be beneficial for the treatment of human diseases, we asked whether macrolides, if bound to the eukaryotic ribosome, would retain their context- and protein-specific action. By introducing a single mutation in rRNA, we rendered yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells sensitive to macrolides. Cryo-EM structural analysis showed that the macrolide telithromycin binds in the tunnel of the engineered eukaryotic ribosome. Genome-wide analysis of cellular translation and biochemical studies demonstrated that the drug inhibits eukaryotic translation by preferentially stalling ribosomes at distinct sequence motifs. Context-specific action markedly depends on the macrolide structure. Eliminating macrolide-arrest motifs from a protein renders its translation macrolide-tolerant. Our data illuminate the prospects of adapting macrolides for protein-selective translation inhibition in eukaryotic cells