Here we present analysis of a 3D cryo-EM map of the 70S ribosome from Mycobacterium smegmatis , a saprophytic cousin of the etiological agent of tuberculosis in humans, Mycobacterium tuberculosis . In comparison with the 3D structures of other prokaryotic ribosomes, the density map of the M. smegmatis 70S ribosome reveals unique structural features and their relative orientations in the ribosome. Dramatic changes in the periphery due to additional rRNA segments and extra domains of some of the peripheral ribosomal proteins like S3, S5, S16, L17, L25, are evident. One of the most notable features appears in the large subunit near L1 stalk as a long helical structure next to helix 54 of the 23S rRNA. The sharp upper end of this structure is located in the vicinity of the mRNA exit channel. Although the M. smegmatis 70S ribosome possesses conserved core structure of bacterial ribosome, the new structural features, unveiled in this study, demonstrates diversity in the 3D architecture of bacterial ribosomes. We postulate that the prominent helical structure related to the 23S rRNA actively participates in the mechanisms of translation in mycobacteria.

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It is becoming increasingly evident that a high degree of regulation is involved in the protein synthesis machinery entailing more interacting regulatory factors. A multitude of proteins have been identified recently which show regulatory function upon binding to the ribosome. Here, we identify tight association of a metabolic protein aldehyde-alcohol dehydrogenase E (AdhE) with the E. coli 70S ribosome isolated from cell extract under low salt wash conditions. Cryo-EM reconstruction of the ribosome sample allows us to localize its position on the head of the small subunit, near the mRNA entrance. Our study demonstrates substantial RNA unwinding activity of AdhE which can account for the ability of ribosome to translate through downstream of at least certain mRNA helices. Thus far, in E. coli, no ribosome-associated factor has been identified that shows downstream mRNA helicase activity. Additionally, the cryo-EM map reveals interaction of another extracellular protein, outer membrane protein C (OmpC), with the ribosome at the peripheral solvent side of the 50S subunit. Our result also provides important insight into plausible functional role of OmpC upon ribosome binding. Visualization of the ribosome purified directly from the cell lysate unveils for the first time interactions of additional regulatory proteins with the ribosome.

Transcriptional coactivator p300, a critical player in eukaryotic gene regulation, primarily functions as a histone acetyltransferase (HAT). It is also an important player in acetylation of a number of nonhistone proteins, p53 being the most prominent one. Recruitment of p300 to p53 is pivotal in the regulation of p53dependent genes. Emerging evidence suggests that p300 adopts an active conformation upon binding to the tetrameric p53, resulting in its enhanced acetylation activity. As a modular protein, p300 consists of multiple well-defined domains, where the structured domains are interlinked with unstructured linker regions. A crystal structure of the central domain of p300 encompassing Bromo, RING, PHD, and HAT domains demonstrates a compact module, where the HAT active site stays occluded by the RING domain. However, although p300 has a significant role in mediating the transcriptional activity of p53, only a few structural details on the complex of these two full-length proteins are available. Here, we present a cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) study on the p300-p53 complex. The three-dimensional cryo-EM density map of the p300-p53 complex, when compared to the cryo-EM map of free p300, revealed that substantial change in the relative arrangement of Bromo and HAT domains occurs upon complex formation, which is likely required for exposing HAT active site and subsequent acetyltransferase activity. Our observation correlates well with previous studies showing that the presence of Bromodomain is obligatory for effective acetyltransferase activity of HAT. Thus, our result sheds new light on the mechanism whereby p300, following binding with p53, gets activated.

Although the roles of initiation factors, RNA binding proteins, and RNA elements in regulating translation are well defined, how the ribosome functionally diversifies remains poorly understood. In their human hosts, poxviruses phosphorylate serine 278 (S 278 ) at the tip of a loop domain in the small subunit ribosomal protein RACK1, thereby mimicking negatively charged residues in the RACK1 loops of dicot plants and protists to stimulate translation of transcripts with 5 0 poly(A) leaders. However, how a negatively charged RACK1 loop affects ribosome structure and its broader translational output is not known. Here, we show that although ribotoxin-induced stress signaling and stalling on poly(A) sequences are unaffected, negative charge in the RACK1 loop alters the swivel motion of the 40S head domain in a manner similar to several internal ribosome entry sites (IRESs), confers resistance to various protein synthesis inhibitors, and broadly supports noncanonical modes of translation.