Translation in Archaea

The translation elongation step involves a succession of decoding, peptide bond formation and translocation cycles. The basic mechanism is very similar in bacteria and eukaryotes, which have been extensively studied. The trees obtained are consistent with the phylogenies deduced from the study of ribosomal RNAs, showing a bifurcation of the branches of the Crenarchaeotes and Euryarchaeotes within the archaea domain. Selenium is a trace element that can be incorporated, in a co-translational way, in the form of selenocysteine into some very specific proteins in all three domains of life. One-third of proteins are produced by membrane-associated ribosomes. The synthesis of these proteins is localized by the signal recognition particle complex and its membrane-associated receptor. After translation has been completed, the ribosome must be prepared for a new translation cycle.