Electrostatics in the Ribosomal Tunnel Modulate Chain Elongation Rates

Abstract

SUMMARY Electrostatic potentials along the ribosomal exit tunnel are non-uniform and negative. The significance of electrostatics in the tunnel remains relatively uninvestigated, yet is likely to play a role in translation and secondary folding of nascent peptides. To probe the role of nascent peptide charges in ribosome function, we used a molecular tape measure that was engineered to contain different numbers of charged amino acids localized to known regions of the tunnel, and measured chain elongation rates. Positively-charged arginine or lysine sequences produce transient arrest (pausing) before the nascent peptide is fully elongated. The rate of conversion from transiently arrested to full-length nascent peptide is faster for peptides containing neutral or negatively-charged residues than for those containing positively-charged residues. We provide experimental evidence that extra-ribosomal mechanisms do not account for this charge-specific pausing. We conclude that pausing is due to charge-specific interactions between the tunnel and the nascent peptide.