Life depends on the precise functioning of several proteins synthesized in cells by ribosomes. This diverse set of proteins, known as a proteome, is maintained by the robust translation elongation of amino acid sequences taking place in the ribosomes. The translation mechanisms which ensure that nascent chains of polypeptides — long chains of amino acids — are elongated without getting detached are conserved in all living organisms. However, the rates of elongation are not constant. Elongation is often interrupted by interactions between positively charged nascent polypeptides and negatively charged ribosomal RNA.
Studies have found that in prokaryotic Escherichia coli cells, the nascent peptide chains not only disrupt the elongation process but destabilize the ribosomes themselves. This type of premature termination of translation is called intrinsic ribosome destabilization…
