A large number of eukaryotic translation initiation factors (eIFs) have been shown to stimulate different steps in assembly of the 48S preinitiation complex (PIC) in vitro. Recruitment of Met-tRNA
iMet to the 40S subunit in the ternary complex (TC) with eIF2 and GTP is promoted by eIF1, eIF1A, eIF5, and the eIF3 complex (
5,
22,
24). The 43S PIC thus formed interacts with mRNA in a manner stimulated by eIF4F bound to the 5′ m
7G cap and by poly(A)-binding protein (PABP) associated with the poly(A) tail, forming the 48S PIC (
50). The 40S ribosome scans the mRNA until the Met-tRNA
iMet base pairs with an AUG triplet, triggering GTP hydrolysis by eIF2, in a reaction stimulated by eIF5. eIF2-GDP is ejected from the ribosome, and eIF5B promotes joining of the 60S subunit with the 40S-Met-tRNA
iMet-mRNA complex, leading to release of the remaining eIFs and production of the 80S initiation complex (
33,
44,
58).
eIF4F is comprised of the cap-binding protein eIF4E, the ATP-dependent RNA helicase eIF4A, and the scaffold subunit eIF4G, which has separate binding domains for eIF4E, eIF4A, and PABP (
19,
50). Recruitment of eIF4A as a subunit of eIF4F to the 5′ end of mRNA, and also stimulation of its helicase function by eIF4G and eIF4B, is thought to facilitate unwinding of secondary structure and thereby promote binding of the 43S PIC at the 5′ end of the mRNA and subsequent scanning. As mammalian eIF4G also contains a binding domain for eIF3, it is believed to provide a protein bridge between eIF4E and PABP, bound at the ends of mRNA, and eIF3 bound to the 40S subunit as another means of stimulating 48S PIC assembly (
22,
50). In
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, however, interaction between eIF3 and eIF4G has not been detected, and the eIF3-binding domain identified in mammalian eIF4G1 (
28,
40) is not recognizable in the amino acid sequences of the two yeast eIF4G isoforms. It has been proposed that an eIF5-eIF4G interaction might functionally substitute for the eIF3-eIF4G interaction to promote mRNA recruitment in yeast (
6).
Although biochemical studies have implicated multiple factors in 40S binding of TC and mRNA in vitro, the relative importance of these factors for PIC assembly in vivo is unclear. Previously, we presented genetic and biochemical evidence that eIF1A is required for a wild-type (WT) rate of TC recruitment in yeast cells (
15,
42). One explanation for the role of yeast eIF3 in 43S assembly is prompted by its physical association with TC in a multifactor complex (MFC) that also contains eIF1 and eIF5. In the MFC, the β-subunit of eIF2 binds directly to the largest,
a-subunit of eIF3 (TIF32/
a) (
60) and indirectly to the NIP1/
c subunit of eIF3 in a manner bridged by eIF5 (
2,
4,
6). Interaction of eIF5 with eIF2β enhances its binding to NIP1/
c (
55), and all three of these factors, plus TIF32/
a, can bind directly to eIF1 (
60). This network of protein-protein interactions could underlie cooperative interaction of MFC components with their independent binding sites on the ribosome (
24,
34,
59). Supporting this idea, point mutations in NIP1/
c (
60), a combination of mutations in eIF5 and TIF32/
a (
41), and epitope tagging of eIF1 (
54) were found to destabilize the MFC and reduce 40S binding of multiple MFC components in yeast cell extracts.
To provide a more exhaustive test of this model, and also to evaluate the relative contributions of eIF3, eIF2, and eIF5 to 43S complex assembly in vivo, we determined the effects of depleting each of these factors on association of all other MFC constituents with native PICs in cell extracts. We also asked whether depletion of MFC components, or of eIF4G, would diminish the level of native 48S PICs to explore the mechanism of mRNA recruitment in yeast cells. To address these questions, we constructed strains harboring temperature-sensitive degron (
td) alleles. Each
td allele encodes ubiquitin and a thermolabile dihydrofolate reductase moiety (the letter omitted in some cases) fused to the N terminus of the factor of interest, expressed from a copper-dependent promoter, and integrated into the chromosome in a manner that disrupts the resident WT allele. The
td mutants also express the ubiquitin ligase UBR1 from a galactose-inducible promoter. Shifting cells from medium with copper at 25°C to medium with galactose lacking copper at 36°C represses new synthesis and triggers proteasomal degradation of the degron protein (
14,
29).
We have analyzed degron mutants endowed with conditional expression of (i) the β-subunit of eIF2, (ii) both TIF32/a and PRT1/b subunits of eIF3, (iii) eIF5, and (iv) eIF4G1 in a strain lacking the eIF4G2 isoform. Our results show that depletion of eIF3 subunits, eIF2β, or eIF5 decreases 40S binding of all other MFC components, supporting a model of coupled binding by MFC components to the 40S subunit. We also provide the first in vivo evidence that eIF3 and eIF2 are critical for stable mRNA binding to 40S subunits and that eIF5 is crucial for converting 48S PICs to 80S initiation complexes. Surprisingly, we found that depletion of eIF4G led to accumulation rather than reduction in 40S-bound mRNAs. Thus, at least for some transcripts, it appears that eIF3 and eIF2 can promote mRNA recruitment in vivo independently of eIF4G and the proposed eIF3-eIF4G interaction. The fact that 48S complexes accumulate in eIF4G-depleted cells also implies that eIF4G performs a rate-limiting function downstream of 48S assembly in vivo.