Zhang, Dejiu; Yan, Kaige; Liu, Guangqiao; Song, Guangtao; Luo, Jiejian; Shi, Yi; Cheng, Erchao; Wu, Shan; Jiang, Taijiao; Lou, Jizhong; Gao, Ning; Qin, Yan
EF4 disengages the peptidyl-tRNA CCA end and facilitates back-translocation on the 70S ribosome
NATURE STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, 23:125-+, FEB 2016

EF4 catalyzes tRNA back-translocation through an unknown mechanism. We report cryo-EM structures of Escherichia coli EF4 in post-and pretranslocational ribosomes (Post-and Pre-EF4) at 3.7-and 3.2-A resolution, respectively. In Post-EF4, peptidyl-tRNA occupies the peptidyl (P) site, but the interaction between its CCA end and the P loop is disrupted. In Pre-EF4, the peptidyl-tRNA assumes a unique position near the aminoacyl (A) site, denoted the A site/EF4 bound (A/4) site, with a large displacement at its acceptor arm. Mutagenesis analyses suggest that a specific region in the EF4 C-terminal domain (CTD) interferes with base-pairing between the peptidyl-tRNA 3'-CCA and the P loop, whereas the EF4 CTD enhances peptidyl-tRNA interaction at the A/4 site. Therefore, EF4 induces back-translocation by disengaging the tRNA's CCA end from the peptidyl transferase center of the translating ribosome.

DOI:10.1038/nsmb.3160

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