Mitochondrial genomes code for several core components of respiratory chain complexes. Thus, mitochondrial translation is of great importance for the organelle as well as for the whole cell. In yeast, mitochondrial translation initiation factor 3, Aim23p, is not essential for the organellar protein synthesis; however, its absence leads to a significant quantitative imbalance of the mitochondrial translation products. This fact points to a possible specific action of Aim23p on the biosynthesis of some mitochondrial protein species. In this work, we examined such peculiar effects of Aim23p in relation to yeast mitochondrial COX2 mRNA translation. We show that Aim23p is indispensable to this process. According to our data, this is mediated by Aimp23p interaction with the known specific factor of the COX2 mRNA translation, Pet111p. If there is no Aim23p in the yeast cells, an increased amount of Pet111p ensures proper COX2 mRNA translation. Our results demonstrate the additional non-canonical function of initiation factor 3 in yeast mitochondrial translation.
Keywords: initiation factor; mitochondria; translation; translational activator.