Finding priority bacterial ribosomes for future structural and antimicrobial research based upon global RNA and protein sequence analysis

Ribosome-targeting antibiotics comprise over half of antibiotics used in medicine, but our fundamental knowledge of their binding sites is derived primarily from ribosome structures of non-pathogenic species. These include Thermus thermophilus, Deinococcus radiodurans and the archaean Haloarcula marismortui, as well as the commensal and sometimes pathogenic organism, Escherichia coli. Advancements in electron cryomicroscopy have allowed for the determination of more ribosome structures from pathogenic bacteria, with each study highlighting species-specific differences that had not been observed in the non-pathogenic structures. These observed differences suggest that more novel ribosome structures, particularly from pathogens, are required for a more accurate understanding of the level of diversity of the entire bacterial ribosome, with the potential of leading to innovative advancements in antibiotic research. In this study, high accuracy covariance and hidden Markov models were used to annotate ribosomal RNA and protein sequences respectively from genomic sequence, allowing us to determine the underlying ribosomal sequence diversity using phylogenetic methods. This analysis provided evidence that the current non-pathogenic ribosome structures are not sufficient representatives of some pathogenic bacteria, such as Campylobacter pylori, or of whole phyla such as Bacteroidota (Bacteroidetes).

Automated summary

Ribosome-targeting antibiotics are widely used in medicine, but our knowledge of their binding sites mainly comes from non-pathogenic species. Recent advancements in electron cryomicroscopy have revealed species-specific differences in ribosome structures from pathogenic bacteria. More novel ribosome structures, especially from pathogens, are needed for a better understanding of the entire bacterial ribosome diversity and for innovative advancements in antibiotic research. This study used advanced models to analyze ribosomal sequences and found that current non-pathogenic structures do not represent certain pathogenic bacteria or whole phyla.