Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters for tRNA binding to the ribosome and for the translocation reaction

Kinetic analyses of tRNA binding to the ribosome and of the translocation reaction showed the following results. 1) The activation energy for the P site binding of AcPhe-tRNA to poly(U)-programmed ribosomes is relatively high (Ea = 72 kJ mol-1; 15 mM Mg2+). If only the P site is occupied with deacylated tRNA(Phe), then the E site can be filled more easily with tRNA(Phe) (no activation energy measurable) than the A site with AcPhe-tRNA (Ea = 47 kJ mol-1; 15 mM Mg2+). 2) A ribosome with blocked P and E sites represents a standard state of the elongation cycle, in contrast to a ribosome with only a filled P site. The two states differ in that AcPhe-tRNA binding to the A site of a ribosome with prefilled P and E sites requires much higher activation energy (87 versus 47 kJ mol-1). The latter reaction simulates the allosteric transition from the post- to the pretranslocational state, whereby the tRNA(Phe) is released from the E site upon occupation of the A site (Rheinberger, H.-J., and Nierhaus, K. H. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 9133-9139). The reversed transition from the pre- to the posttranslocational state (translocation reaction) requires about the same activation energy (90 kJ mol-1). 3) Both elongation factors EF-Tu and EF-G drastically reduce the respective activation energies. 4) The rate of the A site occupation is slower than the rate of translocation in the presence of the respective elongation factors. The data suggest that the A site occupation rather than, as generally assumed, the translocation reaction is the rate-limiting step of the elongation cycle.