Abstract
Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase cofactors play important roles in coordinating aminoacylation and translation. In this study, we describe an additional function of the fission yeast aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase cofactor 1 (Asc1) in translation. We found that Asc1 directly binds and stabilizes the interaction between small ribosomal protein Rps0A/uS2 and eukaryotic initiation factor 3a (eIF3a). In the absence of Asc1, the interaction between eIF3a and Rps0A/uS2 was compromised. The interaction between Rps0A/uS2 and eIF3a mediated the 40S ribosomal subunit binding of eIF3 in 43S preinitiation complex formation to stimulate translation initiation. Keeping with this idea, in an asc1 mutant, the association of mRNA with the 40S ribosomal subunit was defective and protein synthesis was compromised. To show that Asc1 is directly involved in translation, we demonstrate that the addition of recombinant Asc1 is able to rescue the translation defect of the asc1 mutant in a cell-free system. Furthermore, this function of Asc1 is likely to be evolutionarily conserved, as a similar interaction with eIF3a and Rps0A/uS2 could be identified in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and human aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase cofactors. Together, these results identify a function of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase cofactors in translation preinitiation complex formation, which adds significantly to the expanded functions associated with aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and their cofactors.