Onc112 blocks transition to the elongation stage

Seefeldt, A.C., Nguyen, F., Antunes, S., Pérébaskine, N., Graf, M., Arenz, S., Inampudi, K.K., Douat, C., Guichard, G., Wilson, D.N., Innis, C.A. (2015). The proline-rich antimicrobial peptide Onc112 inhibits translation by blocking and destabilizing the initiation complex. Nat Struct Mol Biol 22, 470-475.

PDB entries: 4ZER

We present the crystal structure of Onc112, a synthetic derivative of the milkweed bug proline-rich antimicrobial peptide (PrAMP) oncocin, in complex with the Thermus thermophilus 70S ribosome. Our work reveals that PrAMPs like oncocin (now known as Type I PrAMPs) inhibit bacterial protein synthesis by binding to and destabilizing the translation initiation complex, thus preventing ribosomes from progressing to the elongation phase of translation.

Our paper was highlighted in the This Week in Microbiology (TWiM) podcast (#105, June 5, 2015).

TWiM105

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