Ribosomes that stall during translation need to be rescued to ensure that the protein
synthesis capacity of the cell is maintained. Stalling arises when ribosomes become trapped …

Ribosomes that become stalled on truncated or damaged mRNAs during protein synthesis
must be rescued for the cell to survive. Bacteria have evolved a diverse array of rescue …

Proteins unfold constantly in cells, especially under stress conditions. Degradation of
denatured polypeptides by Lon and related ATP-dependent AAA+ proteases helps prevent …

Proteolysis of regulatory proteins or key enzymes of biosynthetic pathways is a universal
mechanism to rapidly adjust the cellular proteome to particular environmental needs. Among …

The trans-translation mechanism is a key component of multiple quality control pathways in
bacteria that ensure proteins are synthesized with high fidelity in spite of challenges such as …

Persisters are phenotypic variants present within isogenic bacterial populations that exhibit
extreme tolerance toward antibiotic stress. We previously elucidated a mechanistic pathway …

The bacterial tmRNA quality control system monitors protein synthesis and recycles stalled
translation complexes in a process termed “ribosome rescue.” During rescue, tmRNA acts …

The AAA+ Lon protease is a soluble single-ringed homo-oligomer, which represents the
most streamlined operational unit mediating ATP-dependent proteolysis. Despite its …

Cellular proteomes are dynamic and adjusted to permanently changing conditions by ATP-
fueled proteolytic machineries. Among the five AAA+ proteases in Escherichia coli FtsH is …

Mitochondria are essential organelles in eukaryotes. Most mitochondrial proteins are
encoded by the nuclear genome and translated in the cytosol. Nuclear-encoded …