# Initiating translation in mycobacteria: ribosome complexity in a leaderless bacterium

> **NIH NIH R21** · WADSWORTH CENTER · 2020 · $212,117

## Abstract

SUMMARY
Decades of research have led to a detailed mechanistic understanding of bacterial translation initiation. Almost
all this work has focused on “canonical” translation initiation, which involves association of the 16S ribosomal
RNA with the mRNA at a Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence. Our studies, along with very recent publications,
have uncovered a surprisingly large class of non-canonical bacterial mRNAs: leaderless mRNAs (LLmRNAs)
lack a 5’-untranslated region (UTR) and the critical SD sequence. LLmRNAs are rare in E. coli and have
received little attention. However, our published and preliminary data indicate that leaderless translation
initiation is both common and robust in mycobacteria (~25% of all mRNAs). The surprising discovery that
leaderless-pervasive bacteria are far more common than once thought identifies a critical gap in our
understanding of ribosome biology and translation in bacteria and, therefore, is of fundamental biological
significance. Ribosomes are major antibiotic targets, but leaderless translation represents a new essential
process for which novel inhibitors could be identified and developed as anti-mycobacterial agents.
The goal of this proposal is to determine the mechanism by which ribosomes recognize, bind and initiate
translation on an LLmRNA in the absence of a 5’UTR. Our preliminary data suggest that leaderless translation
is achieved by an initiation complex that includes a 70S ribosome bound to mycobacterial RNA polymerase at
the site of transcription initiation, suggesting that nascent mRNA feeds directly into the ribosome, obviating the
need for a SD sequence. While co-transcription and translation is an established paradigm for bacteria, it has
only been considered in the context of the elongating complex on a leadered mRNA. Our data support a simple
model of co-initiation of transcription and translation that allows efficient translation of LLmRNAs found in
bacteria, archaea and mitochondria. In the proposed work, we aim to identify and characterize initiation
complexes that enable leaderless translation in mycobacteria. M. smegmatis is ideal for the proposed work
because it is genetically tractable, which will facilitate the first mechanistic study of LLmRNA translation in a
bacterial species that natively expresses large numbers of leaderless transcripts. Our collective expertise in
mycobacterial ribosome structure and biology has provided a solid foundation for the proposed studies. We
have developed or are developing complementary in vitro and in vivo tools and assays that are now set to
focus on dissecting leaderless initiation complexes, to catch up with the well-described models of canonical
leadered translation initiation. Our potent proposed combination of traditional in vitro biochemistry with new
initiation complex inhibitors and in vivo ribosome profiling will promote a deeper understanding of the complex
process of leaderless gene expression in mycobacteria.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9938429
- **Project number:** 5R21AI147608-02
- **Recipient organization:** WADSWORTH CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** KEITH M DERBYSHIRE
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $212,117
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-06-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9938429

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9938429, Initiating translation in mycobacteria: ribosome complexity in a leaderless bacterium (5R21AI147608-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9938429. Licensed CC0.

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