Escherichia coli protein synthesis is limited by mRNA availability rather than ribosomal capacity during phosphate starvation.

ABSTRACT: Protein synthesis is the most energetically costly process in the cell. Consequently, it is a tightly regulated process, and regulation of the resources allocated to the protein synthesis machinery is at the heart of bacterial growth optimization theory. However, the molecular mechanisms that result in dynamic downregulation of protein synthesis in response to nutrient starvation are not well described. Here, we first quantify the Escherichia coli response to phosphate starvation at the level of accumulation rates for protein, RNA and DNA. Escherichia coli maintains a low level of protein synthesis for hours after the removal of phosphate while the RNA contents decrease, primarily as a consequence of ribosomal RNA degradation combined with a reduced RNA synthesis rate. To und

SUBMITTER: Espinosa R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9814008 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature