Mechanism of selenoprotein synthesis in Archaea

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Michael Rother
• Subject Area: Metabolism, Biochemistry and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Term: from 2015 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 264954249

Co-translational insertion of selenocysteine into nascent proteins proceeds by recoding dedicated UGA codons, from non-sense to sense, in all three domains of life. This programmed alteration of codon meaning involves a secondary structure on the selenoprotein mRNA, the SECIS element, but its structure, localization, and the factors interacting with it differ in Bacteria, Eukarya and Archaea. While SECIS-dependent recoding of UGA is well characterized in Bacteria and Eukarya, little is known about the respective mechanism in Archaea. To identify factors specifically binding to archaeal SECIS elements, to characterize these factors and their interaction with SECIS elements in vitro and in vivo, in order to unravel the archaeal mechanism of SECIS-dependent UGA suppression with selenocysteine, is the aim of the proposed project.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants