Flipping antimicrobial peptides in the exit tunnel of the bacterial ribosome - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #ribosomal exit tunnel
- #antimicrobial peptides
- #translation inhibition
- Proline-rich antimicrobial peptides (PrAMPs) kill bacteria by binding in the ribosomal nascent peptide exit tunnel, with two types based on orientation: Type II matches the nascent protein orientation and arrests ribosomes at stop codons, while Type I binds in the opposite orientation and arrests at start codons.
- Genome database mining identified new PrAMPs similar to the Type II peptide Drosocin, but many of these act as Type I peptides, arresting translation at start codons instead, as shown by structural analysis.
- Minimal structural alterations in PrAMPs can flip their orientation in the exit tunnel, switching the mechanism of translation inhibition, which could be exploited by hosts to combat emerging bacterial pathogens through mutations.