Suppression of a -1 frameshift mutation by a recessive tRNA suppressor which causes doublet decoding.

sufS was found to suppress the only known suppressible-1 frameshift mutation, trpE91, at a site identified as GGA and mapped within the single gene of the only tRNA that can decode GGA in Escherichia coli. It mapped to the same gene in Salmonella typhimurium. sufS alleles were recessive, and dominant alleles could not be isolated. This is in contrast to all other tRNA structural gene mutations identified thus far that cause frameshift suppression. The recessiveness implies that all sufS alleles are poor competitors against their wild-type tRNA(Gly2) counterparts. The base G immediately 5' of the GGA suppression site influenced the level but was not critical for suppression by sufS601. From this result, it is inferred that sufS601 causes frameshifting by doublet decoding.