Molecular basis of non-canonical stop codon recognition by mtRF1 in human mitochondria

The genetic code that specifies the identity of amino acids incorporated into proteins during protein synthesis is almost universally conserved. Mitochondrial translation, however, exhibits deviations from the standard genetic code including reassigning of two arginine codons to stop codons. Translation termination at these non-canonical stop codons requires a protein factor to release the newly synthesized polypeptide chain. Currently it is not known how, and by which release factor, these stop codons are recognized. Here, we used biochemical experiments on knockout mutants in human cells in combination with cryo-electron microscopy to establish that the unusual mitochondrial release factor 1 (mtRF1) detects the non-canonical stop codons. We show that loss of this factor leads to stalling of mitochondrial ribosomes on non-canonical stop codons. As a result, reduced levels of cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 of the oxidative phosphorylation complex IV are synthesized leading to a defect in mitochondrial respiration. We further show that binding of mtRF1 to the decoding center of the ribosome stabilizes a highly unusual distortion in the mRNA conformation and that the ribosomal RNA importantly participates in the specific recognition of the non-canonical stop codons. Comparative ribosome footprint of RIBO-seq data of human WT cells and mtRF1 mutants (mtRF1-AAQ)