LAUSR

ABSTRACT Initiation factor 3 (IF3) is one of the three conserved prokaryotic translation initiation factors essential for protein synthesis and cellular survival. Bacterial IF3 is composed of a conserved architecture of globular N- and C-terminal domains (NTD and CTD) joined by a linker region. IF3 is a ribosome antiassociation factor which also modulates selection of start codon and initiator tRNA. All the functions of IF3 have been attributed to its CTD by in vitro studies. However, the in vivo relevance of these findings has not been investigated. By generating complete and partial IF3 (infC) knockouts in Escherichia coli and by complementation analyses using various deletion constructs, we show that while the CTD is essential for E. coli survival, the NTD is not. Polysome profiles reaffirm that CTD alone can bind to the 30S ribosomal subunit and carry out the ribosome antiassociation function. Importantly, in the absence of the NTD, bacterial growth is compromised, indicating a role for the NTD in the fitness of cellular growth. Using reporter assays for in vivo initiation, we show that the NTD plays a crucial role in the fidelity function of IF3 by avoiding (i) initiation from non-AUG codons and (ii) initiation by initiator tRNAs lacking the three highly conserved consecutive GC pairs (in the anticodon stem) known to function in concert with IF3. IMPORTANCE Initiation factor 3 regulates the fidelity of eubacterial translation initiation by ensuring the formation of an initiation complex with an mRNA bearing a canonical start codon and with an initiator tRNA at the ribosomal P site. Additionally, IF3 prevents premature association of the 50S ribosomal subunit with the 30S preinitiation complex. The significance of our work in Escherichia coli is in demonstrating that while the C-terminal domain alone sustains E. coli for its growth, the N-terminal domain adds to the fidelity of initiation of protein synthesis and to the fitness of the bacterial growth.