Function of archaeal translation initiation factors

In the past decade the research on Archaea has been intensified in all areas of interest. This project is aimed to gain new insights in the field of archaeal translation by studying the function(s) of 2 translation initiation factors of the model organism Sulfolobus solfataricus. In this project I would like to make use of the dynamic ribosome/factor technique to shed more light on the function(s) of initiation factors aIF1 and a/eIF2. Our recent studies revealed that aIF1 binds to the 30S ribosomal subunit and stimulates binding of a/eIF2.GTP.Met-tRNAi to the ribosome. It is unclear how the factor accomplishes this stimulation. The elucidation of the dynamic interactions between a/eIF2 and aIF1 and the ribosome is expected to show if aIF1 is in close proximity to a/eIF2, or, if structural changes, which occur after the binding of aIF1, affect binding of a/eIF2 to the ribosome. In parallel, the laboratory of Prof. Gualerzi and the group of Prof. Londei will map the binding sites of bacterial translation initiation factors on the E. coli ribosome and of the archaeal translation initiation factors aIF1A and aIF5B on S. solfataricus ribosomes. This should allow a comparison of the data obtained with archaeal and bacterial factors and may contribute to a better understanding of the evolutionary aspects of the process of translation initiation.