Entrapping ribosomes for viral translation: tRNA mimicry as a molecular Trojan horse.
Turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV) has a genomic plus-strand RNA with a 5' cap followed by overlapping and different reading frames for the movement protein and polyprotein, while the distal coat protein cistron is translated from a subgenomic RNA. The 3'-untranslated region harbors a tRNA-like structure (TLS) to which a valine moiety can be added and it is indispensable for virus viability. Here, we report about a surprising interaction between TYMV-RNA-programmed ribosomes and 3'-valylated TLS that yields polyprotein with the valine N terminally incorporated by a translation mechanism resistant to regular initiation inhibitors. Disruption of the TLS exclusively abolishes polyprotein synthesis, which can be restored by adding excess TLS in trans. Our observations imply a novel eukaryotic mechanism for internal initiation of mRNA translation.[1]References
- Entrapping ribosomes for viral translation: tRNA mimicry as a molecular Trojan horse. Barends, S., Bink, H.H., van den Worm, S.H., Pleij, C.W., Kraal, B. Cell (2003) [Pubmed]
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