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NMR structure of the Aquifex aeolicus tmRNA pseudoknot PK1: new insights into the recoding event of the ribosomal trans-translation.

Nonin-Lecomte S, Felden B, Dardel F

Université Descartes Paris V-Faculté de Pharmacie, Laboratoire de Cristallographie et RMN Biologiques, CNRS UMR 8015, 4, av. de l'Observatoire-75006 Paris, France. sylvie.nonin@univ-paris5.fr

The transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA) pseudoknot PK1 is essential for bacterial trans-translation, a ribosomal rescue mechanism. We report the solution structure of PK1 from Aquifex aeolicus, which despite an unprecedented small number of nucleotides and thus an unprecented compact size, displays a very high thermal stability. Several unusual structural features account for these properties and indicate that PK1 belongs to the class of ribosomal frameshift pseudoknots. This suggests a similarity between the mechanism of programmed ribosomal frameshifting and trans-translation.

Published 5 April 2006 in Nucleic Acids Res, 34(6): 1847-53.
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