Fluoride inhibition of the initiation of protein synthesis in the reticulocyte lysate cell-free system.

KF (30 mM) strongly inhibits polypeptide chain initiation in the reticulocyte lysate cell-free system.. Chain elongation is partially inhibited but proceeds to a significant extent with little initiation of new chains. Polysome breakdown is incomplete after incubations as long as 20 min. Under these conditions deacylated tRNA-Met accumulates in a fraction sedimenting faster than 120 S and thus may be associated with ribosomes bound to mRNA. Incubation of the system with KF results in the accumulation of a complex which can initiate synthesis of polypeptide chains in the presence of aurintricarboxylate; KF thus inhibits a step in initiation after that inhibited by aurintricarboxylate. The accumulation of deacylated tRNA-Met is correlated with the accumulation of the aurintricarboxylate-resistant complex. Both phenomema are dependent on KF and both are inhibited by aurintricarboxylate in the same range of concentrations which inhibit initiation of protein synthesis.