Molecular Functions of Conserved Developmentally-Regulated GTP-Binding Protein Drg1 in Translation

Developmentally-regulated GTP-binding (Drg) proteins are important for embryonic development, cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation. Despite their highly conserved nature, the functions of Drg proteins in translation are unknown. Here, we demonstrate the yeast Drg ortholog, Rbg1, alleviates ribosome pausing at Arginine/Lysine-rich regions in mRNAs, and mainly targets genes related to ribonucleoprotein complex biogenesis and non-coding RNA processing pathways. Furthermore, we reveal the global architecture of the ribosome and the molecular interactions involved when Rbg1 and its binding partner, Tma46, associate with the ribosome using biochemistry and single particle reconstruction using cryoEM. Our data show that Rbg1/Tma46 associate with the larger subunit of ribosome via the N-terminal zinc finger domain in Tma46, and that the protein complex helps to enrich translating ribosomes in the post-peptidyl transfer state, after peptide-bond formation, but before elongation factor binding and tRNA translocation. Based on our results and the conserved nature of Drg proteins, broader functions of the Drg proteins in the protein synthesis and quality control pathways of eukaryotic cells are proposed.