Phenotypic interactions among mutations in a Thermus thermophilus 16S rRNA gene detected with genetic selections and experimental evolution.

ABSTRACT: During protein synthesis, the ribosome undergoes conformational transitions between functional states, requiring communication between distant structural elements of the ribosome. Despite advances in ribosome structural biology, identifying the protein and rRNA residues governing these transitions remains a significant challenge. Such residues can potentially be identified genetically, given the predicted deleterious effects of mutations stabilizing the ribosome in discrete conformations and the expected ameliorating effects of second-site compensatory mutations. In this study, we employed genetic selections and experimental evolution to identify interacting mutations in the ribosome of the thermophilic bacterium Thermus thermophilus. By direct genetic selections, we identified mutations i

SUBMITTER: Gregory ST 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4248807 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature