title: Translational coupling in the Escherichia coli operon encoding translation initiation factor IF3 and ribosomal proteins L20 and L35.
abstract: The Escherichia coli IF3-L35-L20 operon encodes translation initiation factor IF3 and the ribosomal proteins L35 and L20, respectively. The expression of the genes encoding the two ribosomal proteins is negatively regulated at the translational level by L20, which acts at an operator located within the IF3 gene and just upstream of the L35 gene. We have previously shown that L20 directly represses the expression of the L35 gene, and indirectly that of the L20 gene, via translational coupling. On the basis of mutational analysis and in vitro RNA structure probing experiments, we proposed that a large secondary structure in which the translation initiation site of the L20 gene is sequestered by base-pairing, is responsible for coupling. The ribosome binding site of the L20 gene becomes available when the secondary structure is melted by ribosomes translating the L35 mRNA. Here we describe that this secondary structure forms in vivo by showing that single mutations in either strand reduce coupling and that compensatory mutations that re-establish pairing also re-establish coupling. In vitro 'toeprinting' analysis enabled us to show that the wild-type inhibitory secondary structure directly blocks ribosome binding to the ribosome binding site of rpIT.
authors.affiliation: UPR 9073, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Paris, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chiaruttini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Milet
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Smit
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Springer
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016296:Mutagenesis; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009876:Operon; D010448:Peptide Initiation Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D039665:Prokaryotic Initiation Factor-3; D012269:Ribosomal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C040045:L20 ribosomal protein, bacteria; D010448:Peptide Initiation Factors; D039665:Prokaryotic Initiation Factor-3; D012269:Ribosomal Proteins; C489279:ribosomal protein L35, E coli; C488992:rplT protein, E coli