PMID: 27320387

Authors:

Deeng J, Chan KY, van der Sluis EO, Berninghausen O, Han W, Gumbart J, Schulten K, Beatrix B, Beckmann R

Title:

Dynamic Behavior of Trigger Factor on the Ribosome.

Journal:

J Mol Biol. 2016 Jun 16. pii: S0022-2836(16)30215-7. doi:, 10.1016/j.jmb.2016.06.007.

Abstract:

Trigger factor (TF) is the only ribosome-associated chaperone in bacteria. It interacts with hydrophobic segments in nascent chain (NCs) as they emerge from the ribosome. TF binds via its N-terminal ribosome-binding domain (RBD) mainly to ribosomal protein uL23 at the tunnel exit on the large ribosomal subunit. Whereas earlier structural data suggested that TF binds as a rigid molecule to the ribosome, recent comparisons of structural data on substrate-bound, ribosome-bound, and TF in solution from different species suggest that this chaperone is a rather flexible molecule. Here, we present two cryo-electron microscopy structures of TF bound to ribosomes translating an mRNA coding for a known TF substrate from Escherichia coli of a different length. The structures reveal distinct degrees of flexibility for the different TF domains, a conformational rearrangement of the RBD upon ribosome binding, and an increase in rigidity within TF when the NC is extended. Molecular dynamics simulations agree with these data and offer a molecular basis for these observations.