Abstract

The genome-wide duplication event observed in eukaryotes represents an interesting biological phenomenon, extending the biological capacity of the genome at the expense of the same genetic material. For example, most ribosomal proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are encoded by a pair of paralogous genes. It is thought that gene duplication may contribute to heterogeneity of the translational machinery; however, the exact biological function of this event has not been clarified. In this study, we have investigated the functional impact of one of the duplicated ribosomal proteins, uL6, on the translational apparatus together with its consequences for aging of yeast cells. Our data show that uL6 is not required for cell survival, although lack of this protein decreases the rate of growth and inhibits budding. The uL6 protein is critical for the efficient assembly of the ribosome 60S subunit, and the two uL6 isoforms most likely serve the same function, playing an important role in the adaptation of translational machinery performance to the metabolic needs of the cell. The deletion of a single uL6 gene significantly extends the lifespan but only in cells with a high metabolic rate. We conclude that the maintenance of two copies of the uL6 gene enables the cell to cope with the high demands for effective ribosome synthesis.

Highlights

  • The ribosome is a complex macromolecular machinery dedicated to protein synthesis

  • The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains ~530 pairs of paralogs/isoforms with78highly similar sequences that evolved from agenome gene duplication event

  • Among yeast similar sequences that evolved from a gene duplication event

Read more

Summary

Introduction

The ribosome is a complex macromolecular machinery dedicated to protein synthesis. Both in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, ribosomes consist of two ribosomal subunits (r-subunits): Small and large, which can reversibly associate with each other forming a complete ribosome unit [1]. The small r-subunit comprises a decoding center responsible for selection of an appropriate tRNA based on the mRNA codon [2]. The large r-subunit contains two centers: a peptidyltransferase center, where the formation of the peptide bond between a nascent polypeptide chain and a new amino acid occurs [2], and a GTPase-associated center (GAC) responsible for recruitment and stimulation of translational GTPases (trGTPases) whose activity accelerates the translation process [3,4].

Methods
Results
Conclusion

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.