Programmed ribosomal frameshifting generates the Escherichia coli DNA polymerase III gamma subunit from within the tau subunit reading frame.

The Escherichia coli dnaX gene encodes both the tau and gamma subunits of DNA polymerase III holoenzyme in one reading frame. The 71.1 kDa tau and the shorter gamma share N-terminal sequences. Mutagenesis of a potential ribosomal frameshift signal located at codons 428-430 without changing the amino acid sequence of the tau product, eliminated detectable synthesis of the gamma subunit, suggesting that the reading frame is shifted at that sequence and gamma is terminated by a nonsense codon located in the -1 frame 3 nucleotides downstream of the signal. This seems to be the first known case of a frameshift which is used, along with the termination codon in the -1 frame, to terminate a peptide within a reading frame. [Mutagenesis of a dibasic peptide (lys-lys) at codons 498-499, the site at which a tau'-'LacZ fusion protein was cleaved in vitro (1) had no effect on gamma formation in vivo, suggesting that cleavage observed in vitro is not the mechanism of gamma formation in vivo.     

An mRNA sequence derived from a programmed frameshifting signal decreases codon discrimination during translation initiation

Sequences and structures in the mRNA can alter the accuracy of translation. In some cases, mRNA secondary structures like hairpin loops or pseudoknots can cause frequent errors of translational reading frame (programmed frameshifting) or misreading of termination codons as sense (nonsense readthrough). In other cases, the primary mRNA sequence stimulates the error probably by interacting with an element of the ribosome to interfere with error correction. One such primary mRNA sequence, the Ty3 stimulator, increases programmed +1 frameshifting 7.5 times in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here we show that this stimulator also increases the usage of non-AUG initiation codons in the bacterium Escherichia coli but not in S. cerevisiae. These data suggest that in E. coli, though not in yeast, an element of the ribosome's elongation accuracy mechanism ensures initiation accuracy.     

Molecular cloning of a 46-kilodalton surface antigen (P46) gene from Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae: direct evidence of CGG codon usage for arginine.

The DNA sequence of the gene encoding the early and specific 46-kDa surface antigen (P46) of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae has been determined. The P46 gene, encoding a putative lipoprotein, contained three TGA codons and a single CGG codon in a 1,257-bp open reading frame. Edman degradation of peptide fragments showed that at least one TGA codon encodes tryptophan and that the CGG codon, which has been reported to be nonsense or unassigned in other mycoplasmas, is used for arginine in M. hyopneumoniae.     

Rous sarcoma virus RNA stability requires an open reading frame in the gag gene and sequences downstream of the gag-pol junction.

The intracellular accumulation of the unspliced RNA of Rous sarcoma virus was decreased when translation was prematurely terminated by the introduction of nonsense codons within its 5' proximal gene, the gag gene. Subcellular fractionation of transfected cells suggested that nonsense codon-mediated instability occurred in the cytoplasm. Analysis of constructs containing an in-frame deletion in the nucleocapsid domain of gag, which prevents interaction between the Gag protein and viral RNA, showed that an open reading frame extending to approximately 30 nucleotides from the natural gag termination codon was needed for RNA stability. Sequences at the gag-pol junction necessary for ribosomal frameshifting were not required for RNA stability; however, sequences located 100 to 200 nucleotides downstream of the natural gag termination codon were found to be necessary for stable RNA. The stability of RNAs lacking this downstream sequence was not markedly affected by premature termination codons. We propose that this downstream RNA sequence may interact with ribosomes translating gag to stabilize the RNA.     

Ribosomal frameshifting in the yeast retrotransposon Ty: tRNAs induce slippage on a 7 nucleotide minimal site

Ribosomal frameshifting regulates expression of the TYB gene of yeast Ty retrotransposons. We previously demonstrated that a 14 nucleotide sequence conserved between two families of Ty elements was necessary and sufficient to support ribosomal frameshifting. This work demonstrates that only 7 of these 14 nucleotides are needed for normal levels of frameshifting. Any change to the sequence CUU-AGG-C drastically reduces frameshifting; this suggests that two specific tRNAs, tRNA(UAGLeu) and tRNA(CCUArg), are involved in the event. Our tRNA overproduction data suggest that a leucyl-tRNA, probably tRNA(UAGLeu), an unusual leucine isoacceptor that recognizes all six leucine codons, slips from CUU-Leu onto UUA-Leu (in the +1 reading frame) during a translational pause at the AGG-Arg codon induced by the low availability of tRNA(CCUArg), encoded by a single-copy essential gene. Frameshifting is also directional and reading frame specific. Interestingly, frameshifting is inhibited when the "slip" CUU codon is located three codons downstream, but not four or more codons downstream, of the translational initiation codon.     

Identification of the functional initiation codons of a phase-variable gene of Haemophilus influenzae, lic2A, with the potential for differential expression

Simple sequence repeats located within reading frames mediate phase-variable ON/OFF switches in gene expression by generating frameshifts. Multiple translation initiation codons in different reading frames are found upstream of most Haemophilus influenzae tetranucleotide repeat tracts, raising the possibility of multiple active reading frames and more than two levels of gene expression for these loci. Phase variation between three levels of gene expression (strong, weak, and none) was observed when lic2A was fused to a lacZ reporter gene. The lic2A 5' CAAT repeat tract is preceded by four 5' ATG codons (x, y, z1, and z2) in two reading frames. Each of these initiation codons was inactivated by site-directed mutagenesis. Strong expression from frame 1 was associated with x but not y. Weak expression from frame 2 was mainly dependent on the z2 codon, and there was no expression from frame 3. Using monoclonal antibodies specific for a digalactoside epitope of lipopolysaccharide whose synthesis requires Lic2A, two levels (strong and undetectable) of antibody reactivity were detected, suggesting that weak expression of lic2A is not discernible at the phenotypic level. Inactivation of the x initiation codon resulted in loss of strong expression of the digalactoside epitope and elevated killing by human serum. The failure to detect more than two phenotypes for lic2A, despite clear evidence of weak expression from the z1/z2 initiation codons, leaves open the question of whether or not multiple initiation codons are associated with more complex patterns of phenotypic variation rather than classical phase-variable switching between two phenotypes.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of a complete Chinese hamster provirus related to intracisternal A particle genomes.

We report here the nucleotide sequence of a full-length Chinese hamster genomic proviral element, CHIAP34. CHIAP34 is 6,403 bp long with long terminal repeats of 311 bp at each end. The genetic organization of CHIAP34 was determined by comparison with intracisternal A particle (IAP) genetic elements from the mouse and Syrian hamster. Extensive homology at the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence levels was observed between CHIAP34 and the mouse and Syrian hamster IAP elements. CHIAP34 may represent a defective Chinese hamster IAP genetic element. The gag gene consists of 837 codons, of which 558 codons are in a single long open reading frame followed by several frameshifts. The pol gene begins with a -1 frameshift and consists of a long open reading frame of 753 codons followed by a short open reading frame of 103 codons. The putative env region contains multiple termination codons in all reading frames. CHIAP34 is representative of the predominant retroviral elements in the Chinese hamster ovary cell genome present at around 80 copies per haploid genome.     

Evidence that translation reinitiation abrogates nonsense-mediated mRNA decay in mammalian cells.

Nonsense codons upstream of and including position 192 of the human gene for triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) have been found to reduce the abundance of TPI mRNA to approximately 25% of normal. The reduction is due to the decay of newly synthesized TPI mRNA that co-purifies with nuclei. TPI mRNA that co-purifies with cytoplasm is immune to nonsense-mediated decay. Until now, a nonsense codon at position 23 has been the 5'-most nonsense codon that has been analyzed. Here, we provide evidence that a nonsense codon at position 1, 2 or 10 reduces the abundance of nucleus-associated TPI mRNA to an average of only 84% of normal because translation reinitiates at the methionine codon at position 14. First, converting codon 14 to one for valine increased the effectiveness with which an upstream nonsense codon reduces mRNA abundance. Second, when TPI gene sequences, including codon 14, were fused upstream of and in-frame to the translational reading frame of an Escherichia coli chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) gene that lacked an initiation codon, a nonsense codon at TPI position 1 or 2 allowed for the production of TPI-CAT that was an estimated 14 amino acids smaller than TPI-CAT produced by a nonsense-free gene, whereas a nonsense codon at TPI position 23 precluded the production of TPI-CAT. These and related findings lend credence to the concept that the nonsense-mediated reduction in the half-life of nucleus-associated TPI mRNA involves cytoplasmic ribosomes.     

Mitochondrial gene URFN of Neurospora crassa codes for a long polypeptide with highly repetitive structure

The mitochondrial DNA of Neurospora crassa contains a long potential gene, designated URFN, which is located immediately downstream from the CO1 gene. These two genes are encoded in different reading frames and overlap by 13 codons. URFN is 633 triplets long and terminates at a UAG stop codon. Its codon usage is atypical for N. crassa mitochondrial exons and introns, and resembles that of the long open reading frame (ORF) of the mitochondrial plasmid present in N. crassa strain Mauriceville. Multiple sequence repetitions occur in the presumptive URFN polypeptide, most notably a seven-times reiterated motif of 16 to 18 amino acid residues length. The hydropathy pattern shows that the N-terminal third of the URFN polypeptide is predominantly apolar and includes several potentially membrane-spanning stretches; the remaining part is hydrophilic. Calculation of the secondary structure predicts a high proportion (47%) of alpha-helix conformation. The longest alpha-helix contains 40 residues. No similarities to other mitochondrial genes or reading frames have been found, except a significant homology over a stretch of 16 amino acid residues between the N-terminal part of URFN and a well-conserved sequence in the C-terminal region of CO1. The repetitive region in URFN resembles a similarly repetitive stretch in an unassigned reading frame from bacteriophage lambda. Three arguments support the view that URFN is translated. The open reading frame has a considerable length; URFN is transcribed into a mRNA including the overlapping CO1 gene; URFN is most probably conserved among all the various Neurospora species examined thus far, strongly suggesting that it codes for an essential protein.     

Nucleotide sequence of a 1.1 kb fragment of the pea chloroplast genome containing three tRNA genes, one of which is located within an open reading frame of 91 codons.

The nucleotide sequence of a 1082 bp fragment from the pea (Pisum sativum) chloroplast genome is presented. This fragment contains genes for tRNAGlu, tRNATyr and tRNAAsp as well as an open reading frame (ORF) of 91 codons on one strand and two ORFs of 52 and 59 codons on the complementary strand. The tRNAAsp gene is located entirely within the ORF of 91 codons. The first 366 bp of the fragment correspond to 376 bp at one end of a recently published (1) sequence from the broad bean (Vicia faba) chloroplast genome. These regions contain the tRNAGlu and tRNATyr genes, which are identical and separated by 60 bp in both species. These two genes are probably cotranscribed. The intergenic regions in the corresponding segments from the two species are, except for a 10 bp deletion in the pea sequence, 94% homologous.     

Identification of a second gene-27 product (27bis) of bacteriophage T4, and its involvement in regulatation of expression of gene 51

The 27 gene of bacteriophage T4 has been shown of encode two proteins of 44 and 39 kilodaltons (designated 27-44 and 27-39 bis, respectively) as a result of independent translational initiation at two different start codons within the same reading frame. The first product is the structural component of the viral baseplate. The latter with molecular weight 39 kDa probably plays significant role in regulation of expression of gene 51.     

Evolution of Prokaryotic Genes by Shift of Stop Codons

De novo origin of coding sequence remains an obscure issue in molecular evolution. One of the possible paths for addition (subtraction) of DNA segments to (from) a gene is stop codon shift. Single nucleotide substitutions can destroy the existing stop codon, leading to uninterrupted translation up to the next stop codon in the gene’s reading frame, or create a premature stop codon via a nonsense mutation. Furthermore, short indels-caused frameshifts near gene’s end may lead to premature stop codons or to translation past the existing stop codon. Here, we describe the evolution of the length of coding sequence of prokaryotic genes by change of positions of stop codons. We observed cases of addition of regions of 3′UTR to genes due to mutations at the existing stop codon, and cases of subtraction of C-terminal coding segments due to nonsense mutations upstream of the stop codon. Many of the observed stop codon shifts cannot be attributed to sequencing errors or rare deleterious variants segregating within bacterial populations. The additions of regions of 3′UTR tend to occur in those genes in which they are facilitated by nearby downstream in-frame triplets which may serve as new stop codons. Conversely, subtractions of coding sequence often give rise to in-frame stop codons located nearby. The amino acid composition of the added region is significantly biased, compared to the overall amino acid composition of the genes. Our results show that in prokaryotes, shift of stop codon is an underappreciated contributor to functional evolution of gene length.     

Characterization of ribosomal frameshift events by protein sequence analysis

In cell-free protein synthesis studies with RNA from phage MS2 as template, normal Escherichia coli tRNASer3 promotes two base translocation at GCA alanine codons with a resultant shift of ribosomes to the minus one reading frame. Similarly, normal tRNAThr3 promotes two base translocation at CCG proline codons. These conclusions were reached by amino acid sequencing of tryptic peptides or cyanogen bromide fragments that contained the reading frame shift site. It is proposed that these frameshift events occur by a two-base pair interaction between the anticodons of these exceptional tRNAs and the noncognate codons.