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Structure and Function of the Ribosomal Frameshifting Pseudoknot RNA from Beet Western Yellow Virus
Author(s) -
Egli Martin,
Sarkhel Sanjay,
Minasov George,
Rich Alexander
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
helvetica chimica acta
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.74
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1522-2675
pISSN - 0018-019X
DOI - 10.1002/hlca.200390142
Subject(s) - pseudoknot , translational frameshift , rna , ribosome , nucleic acid structure , frameshift mutation , transfer rna , genetics , base pair , ribosomal rna , computational biology , biology , chemistry , dna , gene , mutation
Many viruses reprogram ribosomes to produce two different proteins from two different reading frames. So‐called −1 frameshifting often involves pairwise alignment of two adjacent tRNAs at a ‘slippery' sequence in the ribosomal A and P sites such that an overlapping codon is shifted upstream by one base relative to the zero frame. In the majority of cases, an RNA pseudoknot located downstream stimulates this type of frameshift. Crystal structures of the frameshifting RNA pseudoknot from Beet Western Yellow Virus (BWYV) have provided a detailed picture of the tertiary interactions stabilizing this folding motif, including a minor‐groove triplex and quadruple‐base interactions. The structure determined at atomic resolution revealed the locations of several magnesium ions and provided insights into the role of structured water stabilizing the RNA. Systematic in vitro and in vivo mutational analyses based on the structural results revealed specific tertiary interactions and regions in the pseudoknot that drastically change frameshifting efficiency. Here, we summarize recent advances in our understanding of pseudoknot‐mediated ribosomal frameshifting on the basis of the insights gained from structural and functional studies of the RNA pseudoknot from BWYV.