Implication of arginyl residues in aminoacyl-tRNA binding to ribosomes

Modification of the 50-S subunits of Escherichia coli ribosomes with the arginine reagent phenylglyoxal produces inactivation of peptidyl transferase and inhibition of the binding of C(U)-A-C-C-A-LeuAc, phenylalanyl-tRNA and N-acetylphenylalanyl-tRNA to the ribosome. Hybridization experiments, using 1.25 M LiCl core particles and the corresponding split proteins from untreated and phenylglyoxal-treated 50-S subunits, indicate that inactivation and inhibition of binding are the effects of modification of a protein fraction, the functionality of the RNA moiety being unaffected by the reagent. The split proteins from phenylglyoxal-modified 50-S subunits are incorporated to 1.25 M LiCl core particles as well as those obtained from unmodified subunits, thus excluding the failure to bind as the cause of inactivation. In agreement with the general role played by the arginyl residues as positive binding sites for anionic ligands, the present results indicate that the arginyl residues of a protein fraction from 50-S subunits might be important in the binding of aminoacyl-tRNA and peptidyl-tRNA to ribosomes.