Protein-directed ribosomal frameshifting temporally regulates gene expression

Abstract

Programmed −1 ribosomal frameshifting is a mechanism of gene expression, whereby specific signals within messenger RNAs direct a proportion of translating ribosomes to shift −1 nt and continue translating in the new reading frame. Such frameshifting normally occurs at a set ratio and is utilized in the expression of many viral genes and a number of cellular genes. An open question is whether proteins might function as $\textit{trans}$-acting switches to turn frameshifting on or off in response to cellular conditions. Here we show that frameshifting in a model RNA virus, encephalomyocarditis virus, is $\textit{trans}$-activated by viral protein 2A. As a result, the frameshifting efficiency increases from 0 to 70% (one of the highest known in a mammalian system) over the course of infection, temporally regulating the expression levels of the viral structural and enzymatic proteins.