Abstract
Zinc starvation in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis induces ribosome remodeling and hibernation. Remodeling involves replacement of C+ ribosomal (r-) proteins containing the zinc-binding CXXC motif with their C- paralogues without the motif. Hibernation is characterized by binding of mycobacterial-specific protein Y (Mpy) to 70S C- ribosomes, stabilizing the ribosome in an inactive state that is also resistant to kanamycin and streptomycin. We observed that ribosome remodeling and hibernation occur at two different concentrations of cellular zinc. Here, we describe the methods to purify hibernating and active forms of C- ribosomes from zinc-starved mycobacteria, along with purification of C+ ribosomes from zinc-rich mycobacterial cells. In vitro analysis of these distinct types of ribosomes will facilitate screening of small molecule inhibitors of ribosome hibernation for improved therapeutics against mycobacterial infections.