title: When Too Much ATP Is Bad for Protein Synthesis.
abstract: Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the energy currency of living cells. Even though ATP powers virtually all energy-dependent activities, most cellular ATP is utilized in protein synthesis via tRNA aminoacylation and guanosine triphosphate regeneration. Magnesium (Mg(2+)), the most common divalent cation in living cells, plays crucial roles in protein synthesis by maintaining the structure of ribosomes, participating in the biochemistry of translation initiation and functioning as a counterion for ATP. A non-physiological increase in ATP levels hinders growth in cells experiencing Mg(2+) limitation because ATP is the most abundant nucleotide triphosphate in the cell, and Mg(2+) is also required for the stabilization of the cytoplasmic membrane and as a cofactor for essential enzymes. We propose that organisms cope with Mg(2+) limitation by decreasing ATP levels and ribosome production, thereby reallocating Mg(2+) to indispensable cellular processes.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale School of Medicine, 295 Congress Avenue, New Haven, CT 06536, USA.|Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, 295 Congress Avenue, New Haven, CT 06536, USA.|Yale Microbial Sciences Institute, P.O. Box 27389, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA.
authors.forename: Mauricio H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Pontes
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, 295 Congress Avenue, New Haven, CT 06536, USA.
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sevostyanova
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale School of Medicine, 295 Congress Avenue, New Haven, CT 06536, USA.|Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, 295 Congress Avenue, New Haven, CT 06536, USA.|Yale Microbial Sciences Institute, P.O. Box 27389, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA.
authors.forename: Eduardo A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Groisman
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism*; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008274:Magnesium / Q000378:metabolism*; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology*; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D008274:Magnesium
keywords: PhoP/PhoQ; magnesium; protein synthesis; ribosome; stress response