# Regulation and Physiological Roles of Translational Fidelity

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK · 2024 · $382,342

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Accurate translation of the genetic information from messenger RNA to protein depends on multiple quality
control mechanisms, which collectively maintain the average levels of translational errors at 10-4 for amino acid
misincorporation (missense errors) and 10-2 for stop codon readthrough. However, increasing evidence shows
that such translational fidelity is not fixed, but is rather affected by various environmental cues and genetic factors.
Currently, we are only beginning to understand the regulatory networks leading to the fluctuation of translational
fidelity during environmental changes and the resulting physiological responses. Translational errors can lead to
reduced fitness, such as growth defects in bacteria and neurodegeneration in mammals, but may also benefit
cells under certain stress conditions. Recently, we have shown that translational error rates vary from cell to cell
in a genetically-identical bacterial population, raising the interesting question as to how fluctuation of translational
errors affects the behavior of individual cells. In my laboratory, we are interested in developing and applying new
technologies to understand the regulation and physiological roles of translational fidelity at both the population
and single-cell levels. We are using our recently developed high-throughput reporter system to screen for
conditions that alter translational fidelity, and have already identified novel environmental and genetic factors
that are critical for this process. Next, we will determine the underlying mechanisms and expand our screens.
Another research direction is to study how translational fidelity affects bacteria-host interactions, which is poorly
understood. Our recent work reveals that either decreasing or increasing translational fidelity impairs expression
of virulence genes and motility in Salmonella, suggesting that an optimal level of translational errors benefit
bacteria during host interactions. We will further determine the regulatory networks using population and single-
cell approaches. These studies will provide important insights into the roles of translational fidelity in
environmental adaption and the regulatory mechanisms.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10839347
- **Project number:** 5R35GM136213-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
- **Principal Investigator:** JIQIANG LING
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $382,342
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-01 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10839347

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10839347, Regulation and Physiological Roles of Translational Fidelity (5R35GM136213-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10839347. Licensed CC0.

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