id: Pfam:PF03889
pfam_id: PF03889
name: Alternative ribosome-rescue factor A
short_name: ArfA
seed_status: EX_DUF
characterization_status: UNSCORED
curation_status: SEEDED
source_url: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/interpro/api/entry/pfam/PF03889
counters:
  proteins: 1344
  matches: 1344
  proteomes: 1339
  taxa: 1759
  structures: 11
  alphafold_models: 802
  domain_architectures: 1
provenance:
  snapshot_id: interpro-pfam-duf-2026-10-10
  path: data/worklists/interpro-pfam-duf-2026-10-10.json
  sha256: 17fb625876c9326ed284263a47bcd84e0d7844a31c040dc06cd2260c36f1c383
  generated_at: '2026-10-10T07:44:21.614711Z'
  source_url: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/interpro/api/entry/pfam/
interpro_id: InterPro:IPR005589
description: During translation of messenger RNAs by ribosomes, translation sometimes pauses or stalls.
  Ribosomes stalled on mRNAs need to be rescued for reuse in order to maintain proper translation capacity.
  Rescue systems such as ArfA-RF2 and ArfB (formerly known as YaeJ) are present in many bacterial species.
  Family members such as ArfA cooperates with the canonical peptide release factor RF2 to hydrolyse the
  peptidyl-tRNA in the non-stop complex. Structural and biochemical analysis show that ArfA anchors its
  positively charged C-terminal in the mRNA entry channel of the ribosome. Whereas its N terminus is sandwiched
  between the decoding centre and the switch loop of RF2, leading to marked conformational changes in
  both the decoding centre and RF2 thereby triggering RF2 peptidyl-hydrolysing activity [[cite:PUB00086401]]
  [[cite:PUB00086404]].