REVIEW: Ribosome-Associated Quality Control in Bacteria

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Maxim S. Svetlov^a

Center for Biomolecular Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 60607 Chicago, Illinois, USA

Received May 14, 2021; Revised May 14, 2021; Accepted May 14, 2021

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Translation of the genetic information into proteins, performed by the ribosome, is a key cellular process in all organisms. Translation usually proceeds smoothly, but, unfortunately, undesirable events can lead to stalling of translating ribosomes. To rescue these faulty arrested ribosomes, bacterial cells possess three well-characterized quality control systems, tmRNA, ArfA, and ArfB. Recently, an additional ribosome rescue mechanism has been discovered in Bacillus subtilis. In contrast to the “canonical” systems targeting the 70S bacterial ribosome, this latter mechanism operates by first splitting the ribosome into the small (30S) and large (50S) subunits to then clearing the resultant jammed large subunit from the incomplete nascent polypeptide. Here, I will discuss the recent microbiological, biochemical, and structural data regarding functioning of this novel rescue system.

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KEY WORDS: translation, ribosome stalling, quality control, polyalanine-tailing

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297921080058

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