PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Doerfel, Lili K.
AU  - Wohlgemuth, Ingo
AU  - Kothe, Christina
AU  - Peske, Frank
AU  - Urlaub, Henning
AU  - Rodnina, Marina V.
TI  - EF-P Is Essential for Rapid Synthesis of Proteins Containing Consecutive Proline Residues
AID  - 10.1126/science.1229017
DP  - 2013 Jan 04
TA  - Science
PG  - 85--88
VI  - 339
IP  - 6115
4099  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/339/6115/85.short
4100  - http://science.sciencemag.org/content/339/6115/85.full
SO  - Science2013 Jan 04; 339
AB  - Elongation factor P (EF-P) is a translation factor of unknown function that has been implicated in a great variety of cellular processes. Here, we show that EF-P prevents ribosome from stalling during synthesis of proteins containing consecutive prolines, such as PPG, PPP, or longer proline strings, in natural and engineered model proteins. EF-P promotes peptide-bond formation and stabilizes the peptidyl–transfer RNA in the catalytic center of the ribosome. EF-P is posttranslationally modified by a hydroxylated β-lysine attached to a lysine residue. The modification enhances the catalytic proficiency of the factor mainly by increasing its affinity to the ribosome. We propose that EF-P and its eukaryotic homolog, eIF5A, are essential for the synthesis of a subset of proteins containing proline stretches in all cells.