Publications

• Escherichia coli YaeJ protein mediates a novel ribosome-rescue pathway distinct from SsrA- and ArfA-mediated pathways.

  Chadani Y., Ono K., Kutsukake K., Abo T.

  Accumulation of stalled ribosomes at the 3' end of mRNA without a stop codon (non-stop mRNA) is supposed to be toxic to bacterial cells. Escherichia coli has at least two distinct systems to rescue such stalled ribosomes: SsrA-dependent trans-translation and ArfA-dependent ribosome rescue. Combina ... >> More

  Accumulation of stalled ribosomes at the 3' end of mRNA without a stop codon (non-stop mRNA) is supposed to be toxic to bacterial cells. Escherichia coli has at least two distinct systems to rescue such stalled ribosomes: SsrA-dependent trans-translation and ArfA-dependent ribosome rescue. Combination of the ssrA and arfA mutations is synthetically lethal, suggesting the significance of ribosome rescue. In this study, we identified the E. coli yaeJ gene, encoding a peptide-release factor homologue with GGQ motif, as a multicopy suppressor of the lethal phenotype of ssrA arfA double mutant. The YaeJ protein was shown to bind to ribosomes. Both in vivo and in vitro, YaeJ showed the ribosome-rescue activity and promoted the hydrolysis of peptidyl-tRNA residing in the stalled ribosome. Missense mutation in the GGQ motif or deletion of the C-terminal unstructured tail abolished both the suppressor activity for ssrA arfA synthetic lethality and the ribosome-rescue activity, suggesting the importance of these structural features. On the basis of these observations, we propose that YaeJ acts as a stop codon-independent peptidyl-tRNA hydrolysing factor through binding to ribosomes stalled at the 3' end of non-stop mRNAs. It was also suggested that ArfA and YaeJ rescue the stalled ribosomes by distinct mechanisms. << Less

  Mol. Microbiol. 80:772-785(2011) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Enzymatic hydrolysis of N-substituted aminoacyl transfer ribonucleic acid in yeast.

  Jost J.P., Bock R.M.

  J Biol Chem 244:5866-5873(1969) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• YaeJ is a novel ribosome-associated protein in Escherichia coli that can hydrolyze peptidyl-tRNA on stalled ribosomes.

  Handa Y., Inaho N., Nameki N.

  In bacteria, ribosomes often become stalled and are released by a trans-translation process mediated by transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA). In the absence of tmRNA, however, there is evidence that stalled ribosomes are released from non-stop mRNAs. Here, we show a novel ribosome rescue system mediated ... >> More

  In bacteria, ribosomes often become stalled and are released by a trans-translation process mediated by transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA). In the absence of tmRNA, however, there is evidence that stalled ribosomes are released from non-stop mRNAs. Here, we show a novel ribosome rescue system mediated by a small basic protein, YaeJ, from Escherichia coli, which is similar in sequence and structure to the catalytic domain 3 of polypeptide chain release factor (RF). In vitro translation experiments using the E. coli-based reconstituted cell-free protein synthesis system revealed that YaeJ can hydrolyze peptidyl-tRNA on ribosomes stalled by both non-stop mRNAs and mRNAs containing rare codon clusters that extend downstream from the P-site and prevent Ala-tmRNA•SmpB from entering the empty A-site. In addition, YaeJ had no effect on translation of a normal mRNA with a stop codon. These results suggested a novel tmRNA-independent rescue system for stalled ribosomes in E. coli. YaeJ was almost exclusively found in the 70S ribosome and polysome fractions after sucrose density gradient sedimentation, but was virtually undetectable in soluble fractions. The C-terminal basic residue-rich extension was also found to be required for ribosome binding. These findings suggest that YaeJ functions as a ribosome-attached rescue device for stalled ribosomes. << Less

  Nucleic Acids Res. 39:1739-1748(2011) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]