Translation
in
Prokaryotes
Naomi Lamtiur Napitupulu
4143342027
Bilingual Biology Education’14
Genetic Code
The process of Translation requires a Genetic
code, through which the information contained in
nucleic acid sequence is expressed to produce a
specific sequence of amino acids.
Words in dictionary are in the form of codons
Each codon is a triplet of nucleotides
64 codons in total and three out of these are Non
Sense codons.
61 codons for 20 amino acids
Initiator & Termination Codon
AUG is the initiator codon in majority of
proteins. Methionine is the only amino acid
specified by just one codon, AUG.
There are 3 codons out of 64 in genetic code which
do not encode for any Amino Acid. These are
called termination codons or stop codons or
nonsense codons. The stop codons are UAA,
UAG, and UGA. They encode no amino acid. The
ribosome pauses and falls off the mRNA.
Wobbling Phenomenon
The rules of base
pairing are relaxed at
the third position, so
that a base can pair
with more than one
complementary base.
Some tRNA anticodons
have Inosine at the
third position.
Inosine can pair with
U, C, or A.
Wobbling Phenomenon
First two bases in Codon in m
RNA(5’-3’) base pair traditionally
with the 2 nd and 3rd base of the
Anticodon in t RNA(5’-3’)
Non traditional base pairing is
observed between the third base of
the codon and 1st base of
anticodon.
The reduced specificity between the
third base of the codon and the
complementary nucleotide in
anticodon is responsible for
wobbling.
Ribosome
Made up of 65% ribosomal RNA and 35%
ribosomal proteins arranged into small and
large subunits.
Ribosomes consist of two subunits that fit
together and work as one to translate the mRNA
into a polypeptide chain during protein synthesis.
The active part of the ribosome is RNA
Prokaryotes Ribosomes
Prokaryotes have 70S ribosomes, each
consisting of a small (30S) and a large
(50S) subunit
Their large subunit is composed of a 5S
RNA subunit (consisting of 120
nucleotides), a 23S RNA subunit (2900
nucleotides) and 34 proteins.
The 30S subunit has a 1540 nucleotide
RNA subunit (16S) bound to 21 proteins
The ribosome has three active
sites: the A site, the P site, and the
E site.
The A site is the point of entry
for the aminoacyl tRNA
(except for the first aminoacyl
tRNA, which enters at the P
site).
The P site is where the peptidyl
tRNA is formed in the
ribosome.
The E site which is the exit site
of the now uncharged tRNA
after it gives its amino acid to
the growing peptide chain.
Types of RNA
mRNAs (messenger RNAs), code for proteins
rRNAs (ribosomal RNAs), form the basic
structure of the ribosome and catalyze protein
synthesis
tRNAs (transfer RNAs), central to protein
synthesis as adaptors between mRNA and
amino acids
Structure of tRNA
Translation in Prokaryotes
Translation is
divided into
three stages:
Initiation
Elongation
Termination.
Decoding nucleic acid sequence
into amino acid sequence
Initiation
mRNA binds to small unit of ribosome
Initiation of translation in prokaryotes involves the
assembly of the components of the translation system
which are:
the two ribosomal subunits (small and large)
the mRNA to be translated
the first (formyl) aminoacyl tRNA (the tRNA
charged with the first amino acid), GTP (as a
source of energy)
three initiation factors (IF 1, IF 2 and IF 3) which
help the assembly of the initiation complex.
The 16S rRNA of the 30S initiation complex first
base pairs with a sequence called the Shine-
Delgarno sequence upstream from the initiation
codon
This interaction anchors the 30S ribosomal subunit
at the correct location on the mRNA template. At
this point, the 50S ribosomal subunit then binds to
the initiation complex, forming an intact ribosome.
Elongation
Is the addition of other aa to the growing
polypeptide chain.
Takes place in three steps:
1. EF-Tu with the help of GTP, binds an aminoacyl-
tRNA to the A site by specific base-pairing of its
anticodon and the complementary mRNA codon.
2. Peptidyl transferase forms a peptide bond
between the peptide in the P site and the newly
arrived aminoacyl-tRNA in the A site.
3. EF-G, with GTP translocates the growing
peptidyl-tRNA, with its mRNA codon to the P
site. leaving the A site free for the next
aminoacyl-tRNA.
Termination
The synthesis of the polypeptide chain is terminated
by release factors that recognize the termination or
stop codon at the end of the coding sequence
Prokaryotic translation termination is mediated by
three factors: RF1, RF2 and RF3. RF1 recognizes
UAA and UAG, RF2 recognizes UAA and UGA
and RF3 is a GTP-binding protein that facilitates
binding of RF1 and RF2 to the ribosome.
The release factors release the newly formed
protein, the mRNA, and the last tRNA used,
The ribosome dissociates into its two subunits,
which are then reused.
Termination
Inhibitors of Protein Synthesis
REFERENCES
Alberts, B., Johnson, A., Lewis, J., Raff, M., Roberts,
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Laursen,B.S., Hans Peter Sørensen, Kim Kusk Mortensen
and Hans Uffe Sperling Petersen.(2005). Initiation of Protein
Synthesis in Bacteria. Denmark: Microbiology And
Molecular Biology Journal. Vol. 69 (1) : 101-123
Lodish,H., Berk,A., Kaiser,C., Krieger,M., Bretscher,A.,
Ploegh,H. (2013). Molecular Biology Cell (7th ed.). New
York: W.H. Freeman and Company
Rudorf,Sophia and Lipowsky R. (2015). Protein Synthesis in
E.coli: Dependence of Codon-Specific Elongation on tRNA
Concentration and Codon Usage. Canada: PLOSone
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