Environment modulates protein heterogeneity through transcriptional and translational stop codon readthrough.

ABSTRACT: Stop codon readthrough events give rise to longer proteins, which may alter the protein's function, thereby generating short-lasting phenotypic variability from a single gene. In order to systematically assess the frequency and origin of stop codon readthrough events, we designed a library of reporters. We introduced premature stop codons into mScarlet, which enabled high-throughput quantification of protein synthesis termination errors in E. coli using fluorescent microscopy. We found that under stress conditions, stop codon readthrough may occur at rates as high as 80%, depending on the nucleotide context, suggesting that evolution frequently samples stop codon readthrough events. The analysis of selected reporters by mass spectrometry and RNA-seq showed that not only translation but als

SUBMITTER: Romero Romero ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11126739 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature