Project description:Ribosome stalling occurring on aberrant mRNA activates quality control pathways to maintain proteostasis. Recently, ribosome stalling has also been linked to the activation of Gcn2 and the subsequent integrated-stress response (ISR). How the two processes are coordinated is not completely clear. Here we show that activation of ribosome-quality control by Hel2 suppresses that of Gcn2 in yeast. In the absence of Hel2, we observe a gene-expression signature indicative of ISR activation, suggesting that factor is used to suppress premature activation of Gcn2 in the absence of stress conditions. We further show that Hel2 and Gcn2 are activated by similar set of agents that cause ribosome stalling, with Hel2’s maximal activation occurring at lower frequency of stalling. Interestingly, inactivation of one pathway was found to result in the overactivation of the other, suggesting that both are activated by the same signal. Indeed, we provide evidence that suggests that, similar to Hel2, Gcn2 is activated by ribosome collisions. Collectively, our findings provide interesting details about how the multiple pathways that recognize stalled ribosomes coordinate to mount the appropriate response.
Project description:Ribosome-associated quality control (RQC) represents a rescue pathway in eukaryotic cells triggered upon translational stalling. Collided ribosomes are recognized for subsequent dissociation followed by degradation of nascent peptides. However, endogenous RQC-inducing sequences and the mechanism underlying the ubiquitin-dependent ribosome dissociation remain poorly understood. Here, we identified the SDD1 mRNA from S. cerevisiae as an endogenous RQC substrate and reveal its mRNA and nascent peptide dependent stalling mechanism by mutational and cryo-EM analyses. In vitro translation of SDD1 mRNA enabled the reconstitution of Hel2-dependent poly-ubiquitination of collided di- and preferentially tri-ribosomes. Distinct trisome architecture was visualized by cryo-EM and provides the structural basis for more efficient recognition by Hel2 over disomes. Subsequently, the Slh1 helicase subunit of the RQC trigger (RQT) complex preferentially dissociates the first stalled poly-ubiquitinated ribosome in an ATP-dependent manner. Together, these findings provide fundamental mechanistic insights into RQC and its physiological role in maintaining cellular protein homeostasis.
Project description:Cells can respond to stalled ribosomes by sensing ribosome collisions and employing quality control pathways. How ribosome stalling is resolved without collisions, however, has remained elusive. Here, focusing on non-colliding stalling exhibited by decoding-defective ribosomes, we identified Fap1 as a stalling sensor triggering 18S non-functional rRNA decay via poly-ubiquitination of uS3. Ribosome profiling revealed an enrichment of Fap1 at the translation initiation site but also association with elongating individual ribosomes. Cryo-EM structures of Fap1-bound ribosomes elucidated Fap1 probing the mRNA simultaneously at both the entry and exit channels suggesting a mRNA stasis sensing activity, and Fap1 sterically hinders formation of canonical collided di-ribosomes. Our findings indicate that individual stalled ribosomes are the potential signal for ribosome dysfunction, leading to accelerated turnover of the ribosome itself.
Project description:Although many clinically important antibiotics inhibit bacterial ribosomes, the mechanisms by which bacterial cells rescue ribosomes stalled by antibiotics remain poorly understood. Ribosome stalling leads to collisions that recruit ribosome quality control (RQC) factors that recycle the ribosome subunits and target nascent proteins for degradation. Surprisingly, loss of known RQC factors in E. coli does not lead to significant antibiotic sensitivity, even though antibiotics stall ribosomes and induce collisions, suggesting the existence of additional, uncharacterized RQC mechanisms. Here we report a novel mechanism for ribosome quality control (RQC) in bacteria in which the DExH-box ATPase HrpA splits stalled ribosomes into subunits. HrpA selectively acts on collided ribosomes and its activity is dependent on ATP hydrolysis. The cryo-EM structure of HrpA bound to collided ribosomes reveals insight into its selectivity and mechanism: the C-terminal domain of HrpA senses the collision and its helicase domain bind mRNA downstream of the ribosomes, where it likely exerts a pulling force that destabilizes the stalled ribosome. These studies highlight the importance of ribosome splitting as a highly conserved RQC mechanism across all three domains of life and identify an important pathway in proteobacteria that allows proteobacteria to tolerate ribosome-targeting antibiotics.
Project description:Ribosome-associated quality control (RQC) represents a rescue pathway in eukaryotic cells triggered upon translational stalling. Collided ribosomes are recognized for subsequent dissociation followed by targeting of the faulty nascent peptides for degradation. However, endogenous RQC inducing sequences and the mechanism underlying the ubiquitin-dependent ribosome dissociation remain poorly understood. Here, we identified the SDD1 mRNA from S. cerevisiae as an endogenous RQC substrate and reveal its mRNA and nascent peptide dependent stalling mechanism by mutational and cryo-EM analyses. In vitro translation of SDD1 mRNA enabled the reconstitution of Hel2-dependent poly-ubiquitination of colliding di- and preferentially tri-ribosomes. Their distinct architecture is visualized by cryo-EM and provides the structural basis for more efficient recognition by Hel2 over disomes. Subsequently, the Slh1/Rqt2 helicase subunit of the RQC trigger (RQT) complex preferentially dissociates the first stalled poly-ubiquitinated ribosome in an ATP dependent manner. Together, these findings provide fundamental mechanistic insights into RQC and its physiological role in dealing with endogenous substrates to maintain cellular protein homeostasis.
Project description:Natural products have a long history of providing potent probes into protein biosynthesis, with numerous molecules serving as valuable therapeutics. The marine natural product girolline has been described as an inhibitor of protein synthesis. Here, we demonstrate that it is not a general translation inhibitor but represents a sequence-specific modulator of translation factor eIF5A. Girolline interferes with ribosome-eIF5A interaction and induces ribosome stalling, primarily on AAA-encoded lysine. Our data furthermore indicate that eIF5A plays a physiological role in ribosome-associated quality control (RQC) and is important in maintaining the efficiency of translational progress. Girolline, therefore, provides a potent tool compound for understanding the interplay between protein production and quality control in a physiological setting and offers a new and selective means of modulating gene expression. numerous molecules serving as valuable therapeutics. The marine natural product girolline has been described as an inhibitor of protein synthesis. Here, we demonstrate that it is not a general translation inhibitor but represents a sequence-specific modulator of translation factor eIF5A. Girolline interferes with ribosome-eIF5A interaction and induces ribosome stalling, primarily on30 AAA-encoded lysine. Our data furthermore indicate that eIF5A plays a physiological role in ribosome-associated quality control (RQC) and is important in maintaining the efficiency of translational progress. Girolline, therefore, provides a potent tool compound for understanding the interplay between protein production and quality control in a physiological setting and offers a new and selective means of modulating gene expression.
Project description:Stalling of the ribosomes on the mRNA has been linked to myriad of molecular and biological functions. While a multitude of algorithms predict codon-usage in ribosome profiling data, no tool exists to predict the context-specific stalling of ribosomes on transcripts. Combining these two features can reveal unprecedented insights in the ribosomal function and their usage across cells and conditions. To overcome this lack of tools to comprehensively analyze these features, we created Bumpfinder, a web-server, that provides comprehensive analytical details on differences in total ribosome occupancy on transcripts, ribosomal occupancy across codons, ribosome-stalling and the underlying causal amino-acids/codons, as well as collisions. Employing Bumpfinder on generated and publicly available ribosome-profiling datasets, we studied the response of various cell types to amino-acid starvation conditions. We observed interesting patterns in response to the biological effects, suggesting the impact of quality control mechanisms of protein synthesis. Complimentary analysis of collided ribosomes demonstrated phased ribosome stalling on the identified sites. Thus, by deciphering context-specific ribosome distribution, Bumpfinder provides unprecedented molecular insights in the ribosome function and mRNA translation during stress response conditions.
Project description:Translation of damaged mRNA can lead to ribosome stalling, thereby producing incomplete proteins toxic to the cell. The mechanism of ribosome-associated quality control (RQC) disassembles stalled ribosomes through the actions of the ASC-1 complex (ASCC). Here, we show that some reagents that chemically damage RNA, such as ultraviolet light (UV), cause ribosome stalling, which leads to accumulation of the ASC-1 complex (ASCC) on stalled ribosomes and stable interaction of the ASCC3 helicase with RNA. In contrast, the ASCC was not similarly affected by emetine or anisomycin-induced ribosome stalling. Our work identified two different types of stalled ribosome. Ribosomes arrested by emetine or anisomycin are transient as they are resolved by the ASCC. Whereas the ASCC fails to split some stalled ribosomes, such as those induced by UV, resulting in long-lived stalled ribosome complexes. We show that ribosome stalling activates the G1/S and G2/M cell cycle checkpoints with long-lived stalled ribosomes causing prolonged checkpoint activation. Thus, the cell adjusts this adaptive survival response to match the nature of the stalled ribosome.
Project description:Translation of damaged mRNA can lead to ribosome stalling, thereby producing incomplete proteins toxic to the cell. The mechanism of ribosome-associated quality control (RQC) disassembles stalled ribosomes through the actions of the ASC-1 complex (ASCC). Here, we show that some reagents that chemically damage RNA, such as ultraviolet light (UV), cause ribosome stalling, which leads to accumulation of the ASC-1 complex (ASCC) on stalled ribosomes and stable interaction of the ASCC3 helicase with RNA. In contrast, the ASCC was not similarly affected by emetine or anisomycin-induced ribosome stalling. Our work identified two different types of stalled ribosome. Ribosomes arrested by emetine or anisomycin are transient as they are resolved by the ASCC. Whereas the ASCC fails to split some stalled ribosomes, such as those induced by UV, resulting in long-lived stalled ribosome complexes. We show that ribosome stalling activates the G1/S and G2/M cell cycle checkpoints with long-lived stalled ribosomes causing prolonged checkpoint activation. Thus, the cell adjusts this adaptive survival response to match the nature of the stalled ribosome.