Structural and mechanistic insights into translation termination

Translation termination is mediated by two classes of peptide release factors (RFs). Class I RF recognizes the stop codons and triggers the release of the polypeptide chain. Class II RF in prokaryotes promotes dissociation of class I RFs from the ribosome whereas in eukaryotes it acts cooperatively with class I RF to ensure efficient stop codon recognition and fast peptide release. Advances have been made in recent years at astonishing pace to determine the high-resolution crystal structures of both classes of RFs on and off the ribosome. Combined with biochemical analyses, these structures provide considerable insights into the mechanistic principles of stop codon recognition and peptide release.