From denaturant to ribosome: rethinking chaperone requirements in cells

Bacterial protein maturation is a tightly regulated process that ensures newly synthesized polypeptides achieve correct functional conformations. This maturation involves a series of modifications, folding events, and quality control steps, often assisted by specialized chaperone proteins.N-Terminal ModificationsThe maturation of bacterial polypeptides begins cotranslationally as the polypeptide exits the ribosome. The first amino acid, N-formylmethionine (fMet), is typically modified at the...

The native conformation of a protein is formed by interactions between the side chains of its constituent amino acids. When the amino acids cannot form these interactions, the protein cannot fold by itself and needs chaperones. Notably, chaperones do not relay any additional information required for the folding of polypeptides; the native conformation of a protein is determined solely by its amino acid sequence. Chaperones catalyze protein folding without being a part of the folded protein.
The...

Ribosome profiling or ribo-sequencing is a deep sequencing technique that produces a snapshot of active translation in a cell. It selectively sequences the mRNAs protected by ribosomes to get an insight into a cell’s translation landscape at any given point in time.
Applications of ribosome profiling
Ribosome profiling has many applications, including in vivo monitoring of translation inside a particular organ or tissue type and quantifying new protein synthesis levels.
The technique...

The large ribosomal subunit has several important structures essential to translation. These include the peptidyl transferase center (PTC) - which is the site where the peptide bond is formed - and a large, internal, water-filled tube through which the nascent polypeptide moves. This latter structure is called the Peptide Exit Tunnel, and it begins at the PTC and spans the body of the large ribosomal subunit. During translation, as the nascent polypeptide chain is synthesized, it passes through...

Within a biological system, the DNA encodes the RNA, and the nucleotide sequence in the RNA further defines the amino acid sequence in the protein. This is referred to as “The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology” - a term coined by Francis Crick.  Central dogma is a firm principle in biology that defines the flow of genetic information within any life form. The two fundamental steps in central dogma are - transcription and translation.
Transcription is the synthesis of RNA...