Identification of Selected Kinetoplastids 18S rRNA Residues required for Efficient Recruitment of Initiator tRNA Met and AUG Selection in silico
Abstract
High Resolution 18S rRNA structures of kinetoplastids ribosomes from theoretical methods have provided atomic level details about the process of translation. This process entails detailed information on the mRNA and tRNA binding and decoding centers within the 18S rRNA that was previously not very well understood. We identified residues in selected kinetoplastids 18S rRNA critical in recruiting the first methionyl tRNA to the small ribosome subunit during initiation and comparing them to see the differences. The Kozak sequence presence on eukaryotic mRNAs tethers it to the AUG start codon. Kinetoplastids are a closely related group, and the three chosen exhibited differences in the A-site in terms of position and nucleotides found there. Interactions are found at the A-site (543-UUU-546 for T. cruzi, 560-CCUA-563 for T. brucei, and 540-UUUG-543 for Leishmania major), where the different mRNA get complementary sequences at the 16th helix. The current findings show that each messenger RNA has a sequence that is complementary to the appropriate 18S rRNA sequence, tethering the mRNA to the small ribosomal subunit, which then recruits the bigger subunit. When compared to the Kozak region that flanks the AUG start codon, this method effectively promotes start codon placement.
Copyright (c) 2023 Mwangi Harrison Ndung’u, Edward Muge, Peter Waiganjo Wagacha, Albert Ndakala, Francis Jackim Mulaa
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Copyright © by the authors; licensee Research Lake International Inc., Canada. This open-access article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (CC BY-NC) (http://creative-commons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
