Doublet decoding of tRNA^Ser3 demonstrates plasticity of ribosomal decoding center.

ABSTRACT: Frameshifts can be caused by specific combinations of tRNA and mRNA. The wildtype AGC-decoding E. coli tRNA^Ser3_GCU has been shown to induce -1 ribosomal frameshifting on GCA alanine codons, and proposed to read a two-base codon instead of a canonical triplet. However, it has remained unclear whether this type of non-cognate decoding can be accommodated by the ribosome. Here, we perform single-particle cryo-EM reconstructions on E. coli 70S ribosomes with the frameshift-inducing tRNA^Ser3 bound to the non-cognate GCA codon or the cognate AGC codon in the ribosomal A site. The structures demonstrate that doublet decoding is made possible when A1493, the conserved monitoring base in 16S rRNA, mimics a first codon base, forming a Hoogsteen base pair with U36 fro

SUBMITTER: Krishnaswamy S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12202706 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature