Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Site Specific Lysine Acetylation of Histones for Nucleosome Reconstitution using Genetic Code Expansion in Escherichia coli
Published on: December 26, 2020
Translation termination in pyrrolysine-utilizing archaea
Elena Alkalaeva1, Boris Eliseev, Alexandre Ambrogelly
1Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov str. 32, Moscow 119991, Russia.
Abstract:
Although some data link archaeal and eukaryotic translation, the overall mechanism of protein synthesis in archaea remains largely obscure. Both archaeal (aRF1) and eukaryotic (eRF1) single release factors recognize all three stop codons. The archaeal genus Methanosarcinaceae contains two aRF1 homologs, and also uses the UAG stop to encode the 22nd amino acid, pyrrolysine. Here we provide an analysis of the last stage of archaeal translation in pyrrolysine-utilizing species. We demonstrated that only one of two Methanosarcina barkeri aRF1 homologs possesses activity and recognizes all three stop codons. The second aRF1 homolog may have another unknown function. The mechanism of pyrrolysine incorporation in the Methanosarcinaceae is discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Translation in Prokaryotes
Transcription in Prokaryotes
Termination of Translation
Termination of Translation
Transcription Attenuation in Prokaryotes
There are several different mechanisms used to attenuate transcription. In ribosome mediated...
Diversity of Archaea IV

