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Molecular and Cellular Biology, December 2001, p. 8657-8670, Vol. 21, No. 24
0270-7306/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/MCB.21.24.8657-8670.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Ribosomal Pausing at a Frameshifter RNA Pseudoknot
Is Sensitive to Reading Phase but Shows Little Correlation with
Frameshift Efficiency
Harry
Kontos,
Sawsan
Napthine, and
Ian
Brierley*
Division of Virology, Department of
Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QP, United Kingdom
Received 9 July 2001/Returned for modification 9 August
2001/Accepted 18 September 2001
Here we investigated ribosomal pausing at sites of programmed
1
ribosomal frameshifting, using translational elongation and ribosome
heelprint assays. The site of pausing at the frameshift signal of
infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) was determined and was consistent
with an RNA pseudoknot-induced pause that placed the ribosomal P- and
A-sites over the slippery sequence. Similarly, pausing at the simian
retrovirus 1 gag/pol signal, which
contains a different kind of frameshifter pseudoknot, also placed the
ribosome over the slippery sequence, supporting a role for pausing in
frameshifting. However, a simple correlation between pausing and
frameshifting was lacking. Firstly, a stem-loop structure closely
related to the IBV pseudoknot, although unable to stimulate efficient
frameshifting, paused ribosomes to a similar extent and at the same
place on the mRNA as a parental pseudoknot. Secondly, an identical
pausing pattern was induced by two pseudoknots differing only by a
single loop 2 nucleotide yet with different functionalities in
frameshifting. The final observation arose from an assessment of the
impact of reading phase on pausing. Given that ribosomes advance in
triplet fashion, we tested whether the reading frame in which ribosomes encounter an RNA structure (the reading phase) would influence pausing.
We found that the reading phase did influence pausing but unexpectedly,
the mRNA with the pseudoknot in the phase which gave the least pausing
was found to promote frameshifting more efficiently than the other
variants. Overall, these experiments support the view that pausing
alone is insufficient to mediate frameshifting and additional events
are required. The phase dependence of pausing may be indicative of an
activity in the ribosome that requires an optimal contact with mRNA
secondary structures for efficient unwinding.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of
Virology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Tennis
Court Rd., Cambridge CB2 1QP, United Kingdom. Phone: 44-1223-336914. Fax: 44-1223-336926. E-mail:
ib103{at}mole.bio.cam.ac.uk.

Present address: Department of Cancer Immunology and AIDS,
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
02115.
Molecular and Cellular Biology, December 2001, p. 8657-8670, Vol. 21, No. 24
0270-7306/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/MCB.21.24.8657-8670.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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