Translation stalling proline motifs are enriched in slow-growing, thermophilic, and multicellular bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Rapid bacterial growth depends on the speed at which ribosomes can translate mRNA into proteins. mRNAs that encode successive stretches of proline can cause ribosomes to stall, substantially reducing translation speed. Such stalling is especially detrimental for species that must grow and divide rapidly. Here, we focus on di-prolyl motifs (XXPPX) and ask whether their prevalence varies with growth rate. To find out we conducted a broad survey of such motifs in >3000 bacterial genomes across 35 phyla. Indeed, fast-growing species encode fewer motifs than slow-growing species, especially in highly expressed proteins. We also found many di-prolyl motifs within thermophiles, where prolines can help maintain proteome stability. Moreover, bacteria with complex, multicellular lifecycles also enco

SUBMITTER: Brewer TE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8941084 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature