Kinetic modelling indicates that fast-translating codons can coordinate cotranslational protein folding by avoiding...

Area of Science:

• Molecular Biology
• Biophysics
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Slower codon translation rates are linked to increased cotranslational protein folding.
• Faster translation rates have been observed to decrease folding probability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if the inverse relationship between translation speed and folding probability is universal.
• To explore alternative scenarios in cotranslational protein folding.

Main Methods:

• Derived chemical kinetic equations relating codon translation rates to folding, intermediate population, and misfolding probabilities.
• Examined various cotranslational folding scenarios within the derived models.

Main Results:

• Identified scenarios where speeding up translation through misfolding-prone segments increases domain folding probability near ribosomal release.
• Demonstrated that faster codon translation can decrease misfolding chances in specific protein segments.

Conclusions:

• The relationship between translation speed and cotranslational folding is not strictly inverse.
• Fast-translating codons can be as vital as slow-translating codons for coordinating protein folding.