Reduction of translating ribosomes enables Escherichia coli to maintain elongation rates during slow growth.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria growing under different conditions experience a broad range of demand on the rate of protein synthesis, which profoundly affects cellular resource allocation. During fast growth, protein synthesis has long been known to be modulated by adjusting the ribosome content, with the vast majority of ribosomes engaged at a near-maximal rate of elongation. Here, we systematically characterize protein synthesis by Escherichia coli, focusing on slow-growth conditions. We establish that the translational elongation rate decreases as growth slows, exhibiting a Michaelis-Menten dependence on the abundance of the cellular translational apparatus. However, an appreciable elongation rate is maintained even towards zero growth, including the stationary phase. This maintenance, critical for timely p

SUBMITTER: Dai X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5346290 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature