tRNAseq, tRNA
8 March 2024
A ribosome-bound tRNA half stimulates mitochondrial translation during stress recovery in Trypanosoma brucei
Brogli R, Cristodero M, Schneider A, Polacek N. A ribosome-bound tRNA half stimulates mitochondrial translation during stress recovery in Trypanosoma brucei. Cell Rep. 2023 Sep 26;42(9):113112. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113112. Epub 2023 Sep 12. PMID: 37703180.
The protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei and its disease-causing relatives are among the few organisms that barely regulate the transcription of protein-coding genes. Yet, alterations in its gene expression are essential to survive in different host environments. Recently, tRNA-derived RNAs have been implicated as regulators of many cellular processes within and beyond translation. Previously, we identified the tRNAThr-3'-half (AGU) as a ribosome-associated non-coding RNA able to enhance global translation. Here we report that the tRNAThr-3'-half is generated upon starvation inside the mitochondria. The tRNAThr-3'-half associates with mitochondrial ribosomes and stimulates translation during stress recovery, positively affecting mitochondrial activity and, consequently, cellular energy production capacity. Our results describe an organelle ribosome-associated ncRNA involved in translation regulation to boost the central hub of energy metabolism as an immediate stress recovery response.
Keywords: CP: Microbiology; CP: Molecular biology; mitochondria; mitoribosome; protein synthesis; stress response; tRNA fragment; tRNA half; translation regulation.