Elongation Factor-P at the Crossroads of the Host-Endosymbiont Interface

Elongation factor P (EF-P) is an ancient bacterial translational factor that aids the ribosome in polymerizing oligo-prolines. EF-P structurally resembles tRNA and binds in-between the exit and peptidyl sites of the ribosome to accelerate the intrinsically slow reaction of peptidyl-prolyl bond formation. Recent studies have identified in separate organisms, two evolutionarily convergent EF-P post-translational modification systems (EPMS), split predominantly between gammaproteobacteria, and betaproteobacteria. In both cases EF-P receives a post-translational modification, critical for its function, on a highly conserved residue that protrudes into the peptidyl-transfer center of the ribosome. EPMSs are comprised of a gene(s) that synthesizes the precursor molecule used in modifying EF-P, and a gene(s) encoding an enzyme that reacts with the precursor molecule to catalyze covalent attachment to EF-P. However, not all organisms genetically encode a complete EPMS. For instance, some symbiotic bacteria harbor efp and the corresponding gene that enzymatically attaches the modification, but lack the ability to synthesize the substrate used in the modification reaction. Here we highlight the recent discoveries made regarding EPMSs, with a focus on how these incomplete modification pathways shape or have been shaped by the endosymbiont-host relationship

Translation Initiation Rate Determines the Impact of Ribosome Stalling on Bacterial Protein Synthesis

Ribosome stalling during translation can be caused by a number of characterized mechanisms. However, the impact of elongation stalls on protein levels is variable, and the reasons for this are often unclear. To investigate this relationship, we examined the bacterial translation elongation factor P (EF-P), which plays a critical role in rescuing ribosomes stalled at specific amino acid sequences including polyproline motifs. In previous proteomic analyses of both Salmonella and Escherichia coli efp mutants, it was evident that not all proteins containing a polyproline motif were dependent on EF-P for efficient expression in vivo . The α- and β-subunits of ATP synthase, AtpA and AtpD, are translated from the same mRNA transcript, and both contain a PPG motif; however, proteomic analysis revealed that AtpD levels are strongly dependent on EF-P, whereas AtpA levels are independent of EF-P. Using these model proteins, we systematically determined that EF-P dependence is strongly influenced by elements in the 5′-untranslated region of the mRNA. By mutating either the Shine-Dalgarno sequence or the start codon, we find that EF-P dependence correlates directly with the rate of translation initiation where strongly expressed proteins show the greatest dependence on EF-P. Our findings demonstrate that polyproline-induced stalls exert a net effect on protein levels only if they limit translation significantly more than initiation. This model can be generalized to explain why sequences that induce pauses in translation elongation to, for example, facilitate folding do not necessarily exact a penalty on the overall production of the protein

Medial prefrontal cortex neuronal activation and synaptic alterations after stress-induced reinstatement of palatable food seeking: a study using c-fos-GFP transgenic female rats

Relapse to maladaptive eating habits during dieting is often provoked by stress and there is evidence for a role of ovarian hormones in stress responses and feeding. We studied the role of these hormones in stress-induced reinstatement of food seeking and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neuronal activation in c-fos-GFP transgenic female rats, which express GFP in strongly activated neurons. Food-restricted ovariectomized or sham-operated c-fos-GFP rats were trained to lever-press for palatable food pellets. Subsequently, lever-pressing was extinguished and reinstatement of food seeking and mPFC neuronal activation was assessed after injections of the pharmacological stressor yohimbine (0.5-2 mg/kg) or pellet priming (1-4 noncontingent pellets). Estrous cycle effects on reinstatement were also assessed in wild-type rats. Yohimbine- and pellet-priming-induced reinstatement was associated with Fos and GFP induction in mPFC; both reinstatement and neuronal activation were minimally affected by ovarian hormones in both c-fos-GFP and wild-type rats. c-fos-GFP transgenic rats were then used to assess glutamatergic synaptic alterations within activated GFP-positive and nonactivated GFP-negative mPFC neurons following yohimbine-induced reinstatement of food seeking. This reinstatement was associated with reduced AMPA receptor/NMDA receptor current ratios and increased paired-pulse facilitation in activated GFP-positive but not GFP-negative neurons. While ovarian hormones do not appear to play a role in stress-induced relapse of food seeking in our rat model, this reinstatement was associated with unique synaptic alterations in strongly activated mPFC neurons. Our paper introduces the c-fos-GFP transgenic rat as a new tool to study unique synaptic changes in activated neurons during behavio

Beta-lysine Discrimination by Lysyl-tRNA Synthetase

Elongation factor P is modified with (R)‐β‐lysine by the lysyl‐tRNA synthetase (LysRS) paralog PoxA. PoxA specificity is orthogonal to LysRS, despite their high similarity. To investigate α‐ and β‐lysine recognition by LysRS and PoxA, amino acid replacements were made in the LysRS active site guided by the PoxA structure. A233S LysRS behaved as wild type with α‐lysine, while the G469A and A233S/G469A variants decreased stable α‐lysyl‐adenylate formation. A233S LysRS recognized β‐lysine better than wildtype, suggesting a role for this residue in discriminating α‐ and β‐amino acids. Both enantiomers of β‐lysine were substrates for tRNA aminoacylation by LysRS, which, together with the relaxed specificity of the A233S variant, suggest a possible means to develop systems for in vivo co‐translational insertion of β‐amino acids

Role of dopamine in dorsal medial prefrontal cortex in yohimbine-induced reinstatement of food seeking in rats

In humans, relapse to maladaptive eating habits during dieting is often provoked by stress.Weadapted a drug relapse-reinstatement model to study the role of stress in relapse to food seeking (Nair et al., Prog. Neurobiol., 2009). In our model, the anxiogenic drug yohimbine, an alpha-2 adrenoceptor antagonist, that causes stress-like responses in humans and laboratory animals, reliably reinstates food seeking.Werecently found that yohimbine-induced reinstatement of food seeking is attenuated by systemic injections of SCH23390 (a D1-family receptor antagonist) but not clonidine (an alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonist). Here, we studied the role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in yohimbine-induced reinstatement. We trained food-restricted rats to lever-press for 35% high-fat pellets every other day (9–15 3 h sessions). We then extinguished the food-reinforced operant responding for 10–14 days by removing the pellets. Subsequently, we tested the effect of systemic injections of yohimbine (0, 2 mg/kg) on reinstatement of food seeking. In Exp. 1we found that yohimbine-induced reinstatement was associated with strong induction of Fos (a marker of neuronal activity) in the dorsal mPFC and weaker Fos induction in the ventral mPFC. In Exp. 2 we found that dorsal but not ventral mPFC injections of the D1-family receptor antagonist SCH23390 (0.5, 1.0g/side) decreased yohimbine-induced reinstatement of food seeking. Our data indicate a critical role of dorsal mPFC dopamine in reinstatement food seeking induced by the pharmacological stressor yohimbine

Divergent Protein Motifs Direct EF-P Mediated Translational Regulation in \u3cem\u3eSalmonella\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eEscherichia coli\u3c/em\u3e

Elongation factor P (EF-P) is a universally conserved bacterial translation factor homologous to eukaryotic/archaeal initiation factor 5A. In Salmonella, deletion of the efp gene results in pleiotropic phenotypes, including increased susceptibility to numerous cellular stressors. Only a limited number of proteins are affected by the loss of EF-P, and it has recently been determined that EF-P plays a critical role in rescuing ribosomes stalled at PPP and PPG peptide sequences. Here we present an unbiased in vivo investigation of the specific targets of EF-P by employing stable isotope labeling of amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) to compare the proteomes of wild-type and efp mutant Salmonella. We found that metabolic and motility genes are prominent among the subset of proteins with decreased production in the Δefp mutant. Furthermore, particular tripeptide motifs are statistically overrepresented among the proteins downregulated in efp mutant strains. These include both PPP and PPG but also additional motifs, such as APP and YIRYIR, which were confirmed to induce EF-P dependence by a translational fusion assay. Notably, we found that many proteins containing polyproline motifs are not misregulated in an EF-P-deficient background, suggesting that the factors that govern EF-P-mediated regulation are complex. Finally, we analyzed the specific region of the PoxB protein that is modulated by EF-P and found that mutation of any residue within a specific GSCGPG sequence eliminates the requirement for EF-P. This work expands the known repertoire of EF-P target motifs and implicates factors beyond polyproline motifs that are required for EF-P-mediated regulation