Initiation of protein synthesis, entailing ribosomal recognition of the mRNA start codon and setting of the correct reading frame, is the rate-limiting step in translation and the main target of translation regulation in all modern cells. As efficient selection of the translation start site is vital for survival of extant cells, a mechanism for ensuring this may already have been in existence in the last universal common ancestor of present-day cells. This article reviews known features of the molecular machinery for initiation in the primary domains of life, Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya, and attempts to identify conserved features that may be useful for reconstructing a model of the ancestral initiation apparatus. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All fights reserved.
Begin at the beginning: evolution of translational initiation / Benelli, Dario; Londei, Paola. - In: RESEARCH IN MICROBIOLOGY. - ISSN 0923-2508. - 160:7(2009), pp. 493-501. [10.1016/j.resmic.2009.06.003]
Begin at the beginning: evolution of translational initiation
BENELLI, DARIO;LONDEI, Paola
2009
Abstract
Initiation of protein synthesis, entailing ribosomal recognition of the mRNA start codon and setting of the correct reading frame, is the rate-limiting step in translation and the main target of translation regulation in all modern cells. As efficient selection of the translation start site is vital for survival of extant cells, a mechanism for ensuring this may already have been in existence in the last universal common ancestor of present-day cells. This article reviews known features of the molecular machinery for initiation in the primary domains of life, Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya, and attempts to identify conserved features that may be useful for reconstructing a model of the ancestral initiation apparatus. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All fights reserved.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
