Internal initiation drives the synthesis of Ure2 protein lacking the prion domain and affects [URE3] propagation in yeast cells

Hepatitis C virus internal ribosome entry site-dependent translation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is independent of polypyrimidine tract-binding protein, poly(rC)-binding protein 2, and La protein

Translation initiation of some viral and cellular mRNAs occurs by ribosome binding to an internal ribosome entry site (IRES). Internal initiation mediated by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) IRES in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was shown by translation of the second open reading frame in a bicistronic mRNA. Introduction of a single base change in the HCV IRES, known to abrogate internal initiation in mammalian cells, abolished translation of the second open reading frame. Internal initiation mediated by the HCV IRES was independent of the nonsense-mediated decay pathway and the cap binding protein eIF4E, indicating that translation is not a result of mRNA degradation or 5'-end-dependent initiation. Human La protein binds the HCV IRES and is required for efficient internal initiation. Disruption of the S. cerevisiae genes that encode La protein orthologs and synthesis of wild-type human La protein in yeast had no effect on HCV IRES-dependent translation. Polypyrimidine tract-binding protein (Ptb) and poly-(rC)-binding protein 2 (Pcbp2), which may be required for HCV IRES-dependent initiation in mammalian cells, are not encoded within the S. cerevisiae genome. HCV IRES-dependent translation in S. cerevisiae was independent of human Pcbp2 protein and stimulated by the presence of human Ptb protein. These findings demonstrate that the genome of S. cerevisiae encodes all proteins necessary for internal initiation of translation mediated by the HCV IRES.

Internal Ribosome Entry Sites in Cellular mRNAs: Mystery of Their Existence

Although studies on viral gene expression were essential for the discovery of internal ribosome entry sites (IRESs), it is becoming increasingly clear that IRES activities are present in a significant number of cellular mRNAs. Remarkably, many of these IRES elements initiate translation of mRNAs encoding proteins that protect cells from stress (when the translation of the vast majority of cellular mRNAs is significantly impaired). The purpose of this review is to summarize the progress on the discovery and function of cellular IRESs. Recent findings on the structures of these IRESs and specifically regulation of their activity during nutritional stress, differentiation, and mitosis will be discussed.

Prions as adaptive conduits of memory and inheritance

Changes in protein conformation drive most biological processes, but none have seized the imagination of scientists and the public alike as have the self-replicating conformations of prions. Prions transmit lethal neurodegenerative diseases by means of the food chain. However, self-replicating protein conformations can also constitute molecular memories that transmit genetic information. Here, we showcase definitive evidence for the prion hypothesis and discuss examples in which prion-encoded heritable information has been harnessed during evolution to confer selective advantages. We then describe situations in which prion-enciphered events might have essential roles in long-term memory formation, transcriptional memory and genome-wide expression patterns.

Novel characteristics of the biological properties of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae eukaryotic initiation factor 2A

Eukaryotic initiation factor 2A (eIF2A) has been shown to direct binding of the initiator methionyl-tRNA (Met-tRNA(i)) to 40 S ribosomal subunits in a codon-dependent manner, in contrast to eIF2, which requires GTP but not the AUG codon to bind initiator tRNA to 40 S subunits. We show here that yeast eIF2A genetically interacts with initiation factor eIF4E, suggesting that both proteins function in the same pathway. The double eIF2A/eIF4E-ts mutant strain displays a severe slow growth phenotype, which correlated with the accumulation of 85% of the double mutant cells arrested at the G(2)/M border. These cells also exhibited a disorganized actin cytoskeleton and elevated actin levels, suggesting that eIF2A might be involved in controlling the expression of genes involved in morphogenic processes. Further insights into eIF2A function were gained from the studies of eIF2A distribution in ribosomal fractions obtained from either an eIF5BDelta (fun12Delta) strain or a eIF3b-ts (prt1-1) strain. It was found that the binding of eIF2A to 40 and 80 S ribosomes was not impaired in either strain. We also found that eIF2A functions as a suppressor of Ure2p internal ribosome entry site-mediated translation in yeast cells. The regulation of expression from the URE2 internal ribosome entry site appears to be through the levels of eIF2A protein, which has been found to be inherently unstable with a half-life of approximately 17 min. It was hypothesized that this instability allows for translational control through the level of eIF2A protein in yeast cells.

Post-transcriptional Expression Regulation in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on a Genomic Scale

Based on large-scale data for the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (protein and mRNA abundance, translational status, transcript length), we investigate the relation of transcription, translation, and protein turnover on a genome-wide scale. We elucidate variations between different spatial cell compartments and functional modules by comparing protein-to-mRNA ratios, translational activity, and a novel descriptor for protein-specific degradation (protein half-life descriptor). This analysis helps to understand the cell's strategy to use transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation mechanisms for managing protein levels. For instance, it is possible to identify modules that are subject to suppressed translation under normal conditions ("translation on demand"). In order to reduce inconsistencies between the datasets, we compiled a new reference mRNA abundance dataset and we present a novel approach to correct large microarray signals for a saturation bias. Accounting for ribosome density based on transcript length rather than ORF length improves the correlation of observed protein levels to translational activity. We discuss potential causes for the deviations of these correlations. Finally, we introduce a quantitative descriptor for protein degradation (protein half-life descriptor) and compare it to measured half-lives. The study demonstrates significant post-transcriptional control of protein levels for a number of different compartments and functional modules, which is missed when exclusively focusing on transcript levels.

Cap-dependent and cap-independent translation in eukaryotic systems

Unlike bacterial protein synthesis, eukaryotic protein synthesis has several mechanisms to initiate translation including cap-dependent initiation, re-initiation and internal initiation. While there is extensive biochemical characterization of the multiple steps in cap-dependent initiation, most of the information on the other two mechanisms is derived from studies on the nucleic acid sequences that influence their efficiency. However, even in the best of circumstances, both re-initiation and internal initiation are only 25% as efficient as cap-dependent initiation and more commonly, are only 1-10% as efficient. This general lack of efficiency leaves open possibilities for mis-interpretation/artifacts in vivo (cryptic promoters, alternate splicing) or in vitro (nuclease degradation). Two examples are cited from the author's laboratory as background for the development of a general set of guidelines to minimize errors and validate authenticity for internal initiation.

Localization of a promoter in the putative internal ribosome entry site of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae TIF4631 gene

The 5'-region of the TIF4631 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (encoding the translation initiation factor eIF4G1) was reported earlier to harbor a very active internal ribosome entry site (IRES) allowing for internal initiation of translation of TIF4631 mRNA. Here, we report the presence of a promoter in the region -112 to -36 relative to the translation initiation codon of the TIF4631 gene. This promoter stimulates transcription from a start site at position -36 and generates an mRNA that is actively translated in vitro and able to sustain growth of yeast cells in vivo as the only source of eIF4G. The data show that the IRES activity reported earlier is due to this promoter. On the contrary, the presumed IRES represents a strongly inhibitory element for translation in vitro.

Alternative ways to think about mRNA sequences and proteins that appear to promote internal initiation of translation

Translation of some mRNAs is postulated to occur via an internal initiation mechanism which is said to be augmented by a variety of RNA-binding proteins. A pervasive problem is that the RNA sequences to which the proteins bind were not rigorously proven to function as internal ribosome entry sites (IRESs). Critical examination of the evidence reveals flaws that leave room for alternative interpretations, such as the possibility that IRES elements might function as cryptic promoters, splice sites, or sequences that modulate cleavage by RNases. The growing emphasis on IRES-binding proteins diverts attention from these fundamental unresolved issues. Many of the putative IRES-binding proteins are heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins that have recognized roles in RNA processing or stability and no recognized role in translation. Thus the mechanism whereby they promote internal initiation, if indeed they do, is not obvious. Some recent experiments were said to support the idea that IRES-binding proteins cause functionally important changes in folding of the RNA, but the evidence is not convincing when examined closely. The proteins that bind to some (not all) viral IRES elements include a subset of authentic initiation factors. This has not been demonstrated with any candidate IRES of cellular origin, however; and even with viral RNAs, the required chase experiment has not been done to prove that a pre-bound initiation factor actually mediates subsequent entry of ribosomes. In short, the focus on IRES-binding proteins has gotten us no closer to understanding the mechanism of internal initiation. Given the aforementioned uncertainty about whether other mechanisms (splicing, cryptic promoters) might underlie what-appears-to-be internal initiation, a temporary solution might be to redefine IRES to mean "internal regulatory expression sequence." This compromise would allow the sequences to be used for gene expression studies, for which they sometimes work, without asserting more than has been proven about the mechanism.

The mechanisms of [URE3] prion elimination demonstrate that large aggregates of Ure2p are dead-end products

The yeast prion [URE3] is a self-propagating inactive form (the propagon) of the Ure2 protein. Ure2p is composed of two domains: residues 1-93--the prion-forming domain (PFD)--and the remaining C-terminal part of the protein, which forms the functional domain involved in nitrogen catabolite repression. Guanidine hydrochloride, and the overproduction of Ure2p 1-65 or Ure2-GFP have been shown to induce the elimination of [URE3]. We demonstrate here, two different curing mechanisms: the inhibition of [URE3] replication by guanidine hydrochloride and its destruction by Ure2p aggregation. Such aggregation is observed if PFD or Ure2-GFP are overproduced and in heterozygous URE2/URE2-GFP, [URE3] diploids. We found that the GFP foci associated with the presence of the prion were dead-end products, the propagons remaining soluble. Surprisingly, [URE3] propagated via the Ure2-GFP fusion protein alone is resistant to these two curing mechanisms and cannot promote the formation of foci. The relationship between aggregation, prion and Hsp104 gives rise to a model in which the propagon is in equilibrium with larger aggregates and functional protein.

Identification of a novel internal ribosome entry site in giardiavirus that extends to both sides of the initiation codon

In Giardia lamblia, enhanced translation of luciferase mRNA, flanked between the 5'-untranslated region (UTR) and 3 '-end of giardiavirus transcript, requires the presence of the initial 264-nucleotide (nt) viral capsid-coding region. By introducing the transcripts of dicistronic viral constructs into Giardia, we demonstrated that the 264-nt downstream region alone is insufficient to function as an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) without including a portion of the 5 '-UTR as well. Deletion analysis showed that efficient internal initiation requires the last 253 nts (nts 114-367) of the 5 '-UTR in combination with the downstream 264 nts. Specific mutations that disrupted the predicted secondary structural elements in either the 5 '-UTR or the 264-nt capsid-coding region completely abolished the IRES-mediated translation of downstream cistron, suggesting that the IRES activity requires the presence of these structures in both regions. Mutations that abolished translation of the first cistron did not, however, affect the IRES-mediated translation of the second cistron, indicating that this IRES-mediated translation is independent of the translation of the upstream cistron. This is, to our knowledge, the first reported identification of a viral IRES with an estimated size of 517 nts that extends to both sides of the initiation site.