Translation II elongation and termination

After translation has been initiated (see p. 250), the peptide chain is extended by the addition of further amino acid residues (elongation) until the ribosome reaches a stop codon on the mRNA and the process is interrupted (termination). 

When one of the three stop codons (UAA, UAG, or UGA) appears at the A site, termination starts. 

Energy requirements in protein synthesis are high. Four energy-rich phosphoric acid anhydride bonds are hydrolyzed for each amino acid residue. Amino acid activation uses up two energy-rich bonds per amino acid (ATP AMP + PP see p. 248), and two GTPs are consumed per elongation cycle. In addition, initiation and termination each require one GTP per chain. 

In eukaryotic cells, the number of initiation factors is larger and initiation is therefore more complex than in prokaryotes. The cap at the 5 end of mRNA and the polyA tail (see p. 246) play important parts in initiation. However, the elongation and termination processes are similar in all organisms. The individual steps of bacterial translation can be inhibited by antibiotics (see p. 254). 

Koolman, Color Atlas of Biochemistry, 2nd edition 2005 Thieme All rights reserved. Usage subject to terms and conditions of license. 

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