Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026

Comparing the Affinity of GTPase-binding Proteins using Competition Assays
Published on: October 8, 2015
A tale of two GTPases in cotranslational protein targeting
Ishu Saraogi1, David Akopian, Shu-Ou Shan
1Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
Abstract:
Guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) comprise a superfamily of proteins that provide molecular switches to regulate numerous cellular processes. The "GTPase switch" paradigm, in which a GTPase acts as a bimodal switch that is turned "on" and "off" by external regulatory factors, has been used to interpret the regulatory mechanism of many GTPases. Recent work on a pair of GTPases in the signal recognition particle (SRP) pathway has revealed a distinct mode of GTPase regulation. Instead of the classical GTPase switch, the two GTPases in the SRP and SRP receptor undergo a series of conformational changes during their dimerization and reciprocal activation. Each conformational rearrangement provides a point at which these GTPases can communicate with and respond to their upstream and downstream biological cues, thus ensuring the spatial and temporal precision of all the molecular events in the SRP pathway. We suggest that the SRP and SRP receptor represent an emerging class of "multistate" regulatory GTPases uniquely suited to provide exquisite control over complex cellular pathways that require multiple molecular events to occur in a highly coordinated fashion.
Related Concept Videos
Cotranslational Protein Translocation
Sec61 channel partners for cotranslational translocation
During cotranslational translocation, the Sec61 channel partners with the signal recognition particle (SRP), the signal recognition particle receptor (SR), and the ribosomes to transport the nascent polypeptide chain...
Directing Proteins to the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum
Coat Assembly and GTPases
Coat assembly depends on the local availability of phosphatidylinositol phosphates or PIPs and GTP-binding proteins. Adaptor proteins, which link the coat proteins to the membrane, bind to these PIPs and play a crucial role in controlling...
Tail-anchoring of Proteins in the ER Membrane
Protein Transport to the Thylakoids
GTPases and their Regulation
Large G-proteins, also known...

