Single-protein/RNA imaging reveals ZNF598 as a limiting factor in resolving collided ribosomes

ABSTRACT: Ribosome-associated protein quality control (RQC) is a surveillance system that identifies and processes aberrant mRNAs with collided ribosomes. ZNF598 plays a key role by ubiquitinating the 40S subunit of collided ribosomes. However, how ZNF598 distinguishes stalled from transient ribosome collisions remains unclear. To address this, we developed a method to visualize binding of a single protein to a specific mRNA while simultaneously determining its translation status. By endogenously tagging ZNF598 with HaloTag, we observed its strong interaction with RQC reporter mRNAs. We discovered that multiple ZNF598s engage with a single RQC mRNA, suggesting that ZNF598 recognizes more than just the leading collided ribosome in a queue. Overexpressing ZNF598 increased the ribosomal clearance rate,

SUBMITTER: Ana, C De La Cruz 

PROVIDER: S-SCDT-10_1038-S44318-025-00523-Z | biostudies-other |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other