tRNA dissociation from EF-Tu after GTP hydrolysis and Pi release: primary steps and antibiotic inhibition (original) (raw)

Ribosome-induced changes in elongation factor Tu conformation control GTP hydrolysis

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009

In translation, elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) molecules deliver aminoacyl-tRNAs to the mRNA-programmed ribosome. The GTPase activity of EF-Tu is triggered by ribosome-induced conformational changes of the factor that play a pivotal role in the selection of the cognate aminoacyl-tRNAs. We present a 6.7-Å cryo-electron microscopy map of the aminoacyl-tRNA·EF-Tu·GDP·kirromycin-bound Escherichia coli ribosome, together with an atomic model of the complex obtained through molecular dynamics flexible fitting. The model reveals the conformational changes in the conserved GTPase switch regions of EF-Tu that trigger hydrolysis of GTP, along with key interactions, including those between the sarcin-ricin loop and the P loop of EF-Tu, and between the effector loop of EF-Tu and a conserved region of the 16S rRNA. Our data suggest that GTP hydrolysis on EF-Tu is controlled through a hydrophobic gate mechanism.

Structural dynamics of translation elongation factor Tu during aa-tRNA delivery to the ribosome

Nucleic acids research, 2018

The GTPase elongation factor EF-Tu delivers aminoacyl-tRNAs to the mRNA-programmed ribosome during translation. Cognate codon-anticodon interaction stimulates GTP hydrolysis within EF-Tu. It has been proposed that EF-Tu undergoes a large conformational change subsequent to GTP hydrolysis, which results in the accommodation of aminoacyl-tRNA into the ribosomal A-site. However, this proposal has never been tested directly. Here, we apply single-molecule total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy to study the conformational dynamics of EF-Tu when bound to the ribosome. Our studies show that GTP hydrolysis initiates a partial, comparatively small conformational change of EF-Tu on the ribosome, not directly along the path from the solution 'GTP' to the 'GDP' structure. The final motion is completed either concomitant with or following dissociation of EF-Tu from the ribosome. The structural transition of EF-Tu on the ribosome is slower when aa-tRNA binds to a cognat...

Molecular Dynamics Study of the Ribosomal A-Site

The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2008

Many aminoglycosidic antibiotics target the A-site of 16S RNA in the small ribosomal subunit and affect the fidelity of protein translation in bacteria. Upon binding aminoglycosides displace two adenines (A1492 and A1493 for E. coli numbering) that are involved in tRNA anticodon loop recognition. The major difference in the aminoglycosidic binding site between the prokaryota and eukaryota is an adenine into guanine substitution in the position 1408. This mutation likely affects the dynamics of near A1492 and A1493 and hinders the binding of aminoglycosides to eukaryotic ribosomes. With multiple 20 ns long all-atom molecular dynamics simulations we study the flexibility of a 22-nucleotide RNA fragment which mimics the aminoglycosidic binding site. Simulations are carried out for both, native and A1408G mutated RNA, as well as for their complexes with aminoglycosidic representative-paromomycin. We observe intra-and extrahelical configurations of A1492 and A1493, which differ between the prokaryotic and the mutated structure. We obtained configurations of the A-site that were also observed in the NMR and crystal structures. Our studies show the differences in the internal mobility of the A-site, as well as in ion and water density distributions inside the binding cleft, between the prokaryotic and mutated RNA. We also compare the performance of two force field parameters for RNA-Amber and Charmm.

Distinct tRNA Accommodation Intermediates Observed on the Ribosome with the Antibiotics Hygromycin A and A201A

Molecular cell, 2015

The increase in multi-drug-resistant bacteria is limiting the effectiveness of currently approved antibiotics, leading to a renewed interest in antibiotics with distinct chemical scaffolds. We have solved the structures of the Thermus thermophilus 70S ribosome with A-, P-, and E-site tRNAs bound and in complex with either the aminocyclitol-containing antibiotic hygromycin A (HygA) or the nucleoside antibiotic A201A. Both antibiotics bind at the peptidyl transferase center and sterically occlude the CCA-end of the A-tRNA from entering the A site of the peptidyl transferase center. Single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) experiments reveal that HygA and A201A specifically interfere with full accommodation of the A-tRNA, leading to the presence of tRNA accommodation intermediates and thereby inhibiting peptide bond formation. Thus, our results provide not only insight into the mechanism of action of HygA and A201A, but also into the fundamental process of tRNA accomm...

tRNA dynamics on the ribosome during translation

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2004

Using single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy, time-resolved conformational changes between fluorescently labeled tRNA have been characterized within surface-immobilized ribosomes proceeding through a complete cycle of translation elongation. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer was used to observe aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA) stably accommodating into the aminoacyl site (A site) of the ribosome via a multistep, elongation factor-Tu dependent process. Subsequently, tRNA molecules, bound at the peptidyl site and A site, fluctuate between two configurations assigned as classical and hybrid states. The lifetime of classical and hybrid states, measured for complexes carrying aa-tRNA and peptidyl-tRNA at the A site, shows that peptide bond formation decreases the lifetime of the classical-state tRNA configuration by ≈6-fold. These data suggest that the growing peptide chain plays a role in modulating fluctuations between hybrid and classical states. Single-molecule fluorescence resonance...

GTP hydrolysis by EF-G synchronizes tRNA movement on small and large ribosomal subunits

The EMBO journal, 2014

Elongation factor G (EF-G) promotes the movement of two tRNAs and the mRNA through the ribosome in each cycle of peptide elongation. During translocation, the tRNAs transiently occupy intermediate positions on both small (30S) and large (50S) ribosomal subunits. How EF-G and GTP hydrolysis control these movements is still unclear. We used fluorescence labels that specifically monitor movements on either 30S or 50S subunits in combination with EF-G mutants and translocation-specific antibiotics to investigate timing and energetics of translocation. We show that EF-G-GTP facilitates synchronous movements of peptidyl-tRNA on the two subunits into an early post-translocation state, which resembles a chimeric state identified by structural studies. EF-G binding without GTP hydrolysis promotes only partial tRNA movement on the 50S subunit. However, rapid 30S translocation and the concomitant completion of 50S translocation require GTP hydrolysis and a functional domain 4 of EF-G. Our resu...

Elongation factor-Tu can repetitively engage aminoacyl-tRNA within the ribosome during the proofreading stage of tRNA selection

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2020

The substrate for ribosomes actively engaged in protein synthesis is a ternary complex of elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu), aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA), and GTP. EF-Tu plays a critical role in mRNA decoding by increasing the rate and fidelity of aa-tRNA selection at each mRNA codon. Here, using three-color single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer imaging and molecular dynamics simulations, we examine the timing and role of conformational events that mediate the release of aa-tRNA from EF-Tu and EF-Tu from the ribosome after GTP hydrolysis. Our investigations reveal that conformational changes in EF-Tu coordinate the rate-limiting passage of aa-tRNA through the accommodation corridor en route to the peptidyl transferase center of the large ribosomal subunit. Experiments using distinct inhibitors of the accommodation process further show that aa-tRNA must at least partially transit the accommodation corridor for EF-Tu⋅GDP to release. aa-tRNAs failing to undergo peptide bond for...

Energy barriers and driving forces in tRNA translocation through the ribosome

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 2013

nature structural & molecular biology advance online publication a r t i c l e s Ribosomes are molecular machines that synthesize proteins from aminoacyl tRNAs, using mRNA as template. After formation of a peptide bond, the two tRNAs bound to the aminoacyl (A) and peptidyl (P) sites on the small (30S) and large (50S) ribosomal subunits translocate by more than 7 nm to the P and exit (E) sites, respectively, while the next mRNA codon moves into the A site . During translocation, tRNAs move on the 50S subunit into the hybrid A/P and P/E positions 1 with a concomitant rotation of the 30S subunit relative to the 50S subunit 2-4 . The rate-limiting step of translocation is the displacement of the codon-anticodon complexes on the 30S subunit; this, followed by the reversal of the subunit rotation, yields the post-translocation complex. Translocation is promoted by elongation factor G (EF-G) and is driven by GTP hydrolysis. In the absence of the factor, spontaneous, thermally driven tRNA translocation can occur 5-8 , and this seems to involve the same intersubunit interactions that occur in the presence of EF-G 9 . Spontaneous translocation is an equilibrium process, in which the tRNAs make rapid, spontaneous excursions in both forward and backward directions 5,6,10 . Preferential directionality is determined by the affinities of the tRNAs for their respective binding sites 5,6 . The process of translocation entails fluctuations of tRNAs 4,11-14 and of the components of the 50S subunit such as the L1 stalk 3,15-17 . A recent cryo-EM work revealed a large number of different conformational states for spontaneous, thermally driven tRNA movement through the ribosome 10 . However, precisely how the thermal fluctuations of tRNAs and of parts of the ribosome cooperatively drive the tRNA movement is unclear. It is also unclear whether and how synchronous movements-such as those involving intersubunit rotations, the L1 stalk and tRNA fMet -are coupled to one another. Furthermore, it is unknown how efficient tRNA handover from one binding site to another is achieved, despite the considerable structural changes along the translocation path. To address these questions, we combined data from X-ray crystallography and singleparticle cryo-EM with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.

Simulating movement of tRNA into the ribosome during decoding

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2005

Decoding is the key step during protein synthesis that enables information transfer from RNA to protein, a process critical for the survival of all organisms. We have used large-scale (2.64 ؋ 10 6 atoms) all-atom simulations of the entire ribosome to understand a critical step of decoding. Although the decoding problem has been studied for more than four decades, the rate-limiting step of cognate tRNA selection has only recently been identified. This step, known as accommodation, involves the movement inside the ribosome of the aminoacyl-tRNA from the partially bound ''A͞T'' state to the fully bound ''A͞A'' state. Here, we show that a corridor of 20 universally conserved ribosomal RNA bases interacts with the tRNA during the accommodation movement. Surprisingly, the tRNA is impeded by the A-loop (23S helix 92), instead of enjoying a smooth transition to the A͞A state. In particular, universally conserved 23S ribosomal RNA bases U2492, C2556, and C2573 act as a 3D gate, causing the acceptor stem to pause before allowing entrance into the peptidyl transferase center. Our simulations demonstrate that the flexibility of the acceptor stem of the tRNA, in addition to flexibility of the anticodon arm, is essential for tRNA selection. This study serves as a template for simulating conformational changes in large (>10 6 atoms) biological and artificial molecular machines.

Molecular dynamics of ribosomal elongation factors G and Tu

European Biophysics Journal, 2011

Translation on the ribosome is controlled by external factors. During polypeptide lengthening, elongation factors EF-Tu and EF-G consecutively interact with the bacterial ribosome. EF-Tu binds and delivers an aminoacyl-tRNA to the ribosomal A site and EF-G helps translocate the tRNAs between their binding sites after the peptide bond is formed. These processes occur at the expense of GTP. EF-Tu:tRNA and EF-G are of similar shape, share a common binding site, and undergo large conformational changes on interaction with the ribosome. To characterize the internal motion of these two elongation factors, we used 25 ns long all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. We observed enhanced mobility of EF-G domains III, IV, and V and of tRNA in the EF-Tu:tRNA complex. EF-Tu:GDP complex acquired a configuration different from that found in the crystal structure of EF-Tu with a GTP analogue, showing conformational changes in the switch I and II regions. The calculated electrostatic properties of elongation factors showed no global similarity even though matching electrostatic surface patches were found around the domain I that contacts the ribosome, and in the GDP/GTP binding region.