1
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Reichelt R, Rothmeier T, Grünberger F, Willkomm S, Bruckmann A, Hausner W, Grohmann D. The archaeal Lsm protein from Pyrococcus furiosus binds co-transcriptionally to poly(U)-rich target RNAs. Biol Chem 2023; 404:1085-1100. [PMID: 37709673 DOI: 10.1515/hsz-2023-0215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Posttranscriptional processes in Bacteria include the association of small regulatory RNAs (sRNA) with a target mRNA. The sRNA/mRNA annealing process is often mediated by an RNA chaperone called Hfq. The functional role of bacterial and eukaryotic Lsm proteins is partially understood, whereas knowledge about archaeal Lsm proteins is scarce. Here, we used the genetically tractable archaeal hyperthermophile Pyrococcus furiosus to identify the protein interaction partners of the archaeal Sm-like proteins (PfuSmAP1) using mass spectrometry and performed a transcriptome-wide binding site analysis of PfuSmAP1. Most of the protein interaction partners we found are part of the RNA homoeostasis network in Archaea including ribosomal proteins, the exosome, RNA-modifying enzymes, but also RNA polymerase subunits, and transcription factors. We show that PfuSmAP1 preferentially binds messenger RNAs and antisense RNAs recognizing a gapped poly(U) sequence with high affinity. Furthermore, we found that SmAP1 co-transcriptionally associates with target RNAs. Our study reveals that in contrast to bacterial Hfq, PfuSmAP1 does not affect the transcriptional activity or the pausing behaviour of archaeal RNA polymerases. We propose that PfuSmAP1 recruits antisense RNAs to target mRNAs and thereby executes its putative regulatory function on the posttranscriptional level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Reichelt
- Institute of Microbiology & Archaea Centre, Single-Molecule Biochemistry Lab, University of Regensburg, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Tamara Rothmeier
- Institute of Microbiology & Archaea Centre, Single-Molecule Biochemistry Lab, University of Regensburg, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Felix Grünberger
- Institute of Microbiology & Archaea Centre, Single-Molecule Biochemistry Lab, University of Regensburg, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Sarah Willkomm
- Institute of Microbiology & Archaea Centre, Single-Molecule Biochemistry Lab, University of Regensburg, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Astrid Bruckmann
- Institute of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology (Biochemistry I), Protein Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, University of Regensburg, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Winfried Hausner
- Institute of Microbiology & Archaea Centre, Single-Molecule Biochemistry Lab, University of Regensburg, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Dina Grohmann
- Institute of Microbiology & Archaea Centre, Single-Molecule Biochemistry Lab, University of Regensburg, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
- Regensburg Center of Biochemistry (RCB), University of Regensburg, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
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2
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Abstract
RNA structural conformation and dynamics govern the functional properties of all RNA/RNP. Accordingly, defining changes of RNA structure and dynamics in various conditions may provide detailed insight into how RNA structural properties regulate the function of RNA/RNP. Traditional chemical footprinting analysis using chemical modifiers allows to sample the dynamics and conformation landscape of diverse RNA/RNP. However, many chemical modifiers are limited in their capacity to provide unbiased information reflecting the in vivo RNA/RNP structural landscape. In the recent years, the development of selective-2'-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension (SHAPE) methodology that uses powerful new chemical modifiers has significantly improved in vitro and in vivo structural probing of secondary and tertiary interactions of diverse RNA species at the single nucleotide level.Although the original discovery of Archaea as an independent domain of life is intimately linked to the technological development of RNA analysis, our understanding of in vivo RNA structural conformation and dynamics in this domain of life remains scarce.This protocol describes the in vivo use of SHAPE chemistry in two evolutionary divergent model Archaea, Sulfolobus acidocaldarius and Haloferax volcanii.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Knüppel
- Department of Biochemistry III, Institute for Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Martin Fenk
- Department of Biochemistry III, Institute for Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Michael Jüttner
- Department of Biochemistry III, Institute for Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Sébastien Ferreira-Cerca
- Department of Biochemistry III, Institute for Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
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3
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Knüppel R, Trahan C, Kern M, Wagner A, Grünberger F, Hausner W, Quax TEF, Albers SV, Oeffinger M, Ferreira-Cerca S. Insights into synthesis and function of KsgA/Dim1-dependent rRNA modifications in archaea. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:1662-1687. [PMID: 33434266 PMCID: PMC7897474 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa1268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Ribosomes are intricate molecular machines ensuring proper protein synthesis in every cell. Ribosome biogenesis is a complex process which has been intensively analyzed in bacteria and eukaryotes. In contrast, our understanding of the in vivo archaeal ribosome biogenesis pathway remains less characterized. Here, we have analyzed the in vivo role of the almost universally conserved ribosomal RNA dimethyltransferase KsgA/Dim1 homolog in archaea. Our study reveals that KsgA/Dim1-dependent 16S rRNA dimethylation is dispensable for the cellular growth of phylogenetically distant archaea. However, proteomics and functional analyses suggest that archaeal KsgA/Dim1 and its rRNA modification activity (i) influence the expression of a subset of proteins and (ii) contribute to archaeal cellular fitness and adaptation. In addition, our study reveals an unexpected KsgA/Dim1-dependent variability of rRNA modifications within the archaeal phylum. Combining structure-based functional studies across evolutionary divergent organisms, we provide evidence on how rRNA structure sequence variability (re-)shapes the KsgA/Dim1-dependent rRNA modification status. Finally, our results suggest an uncoupling between the KsgA/Dim1-dependent rRNA modification completion and its release from the nascent small ribosomal subunit. Collectively, our study provides additional understandings into principles of molecular functional adaptation, and further evolutionary and mechanistic insights into an almost universally conserved step of ribosome synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Knüppel
- Regensburg Center for Biochemistry, Biochemistry III – Institute for Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Christian Trahan
- Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal, 110 Avenue des Pins Ouest, Montréal, Québec H2W 1R7, Canada
- Faculty of Medicine, Division of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1A3, Canada
- Département de Biochimie, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Michael Kern
- Regensburg Center for Biochemistry, Biochemistry III – Institute for Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Alexander Wagner
- Molecular Biology of Archaea, Institute of Biology II, Faculty of Biology, Microbiology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Felix Grünberger
- Chair of Microbiology – Institute for Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Winfried Hausner
- Chair of Microbiology – Institute for Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Tessa E F Quax
- Archaeal Virus-Host Interactions, Institute of Biology II, Faculty of Biology, Microbiology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Sonja-Verena Albers
- Molecular Biology of Archaea, Institute of Biology II, Faculty of Biology, Microbiology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marlene Oeffinger
- Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal, 110 Avenue des Pins Ouest, Montréal, Québec H2W 1R7, Canada
- Faculty of Medicine, Division of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1A3, Canada
- Département de Biochimie, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Sébastien Ferreira-Cerca
- Regensburg Center for Biochemistry, Biochemistry III – Institute for Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
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4
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Abstract
The large ribosomal RNAs of eukaryotes frequently contain expansion sequences that add to the size of the rRNAs but do not affect their overall structural layout and are compatible with major ribosomal function as an mRNA translation machine. The expansion of prokaryotic ribosomal RNAs is much less explored. In order to obtain more insight into the structural variability of these conserved molecules, we herein report the results of a comprehensive search for the expansion sequences in prokaryotic 5S rRNAs. Overall, 89 expanded 5S rRNAs of 15 structural types were identified in 15 archaeal and 36 bacterial genomes. Expansion segments ranging in length from 13 to 109 residues were found to be distributed among 17 insertion sites. The strains harboring the expanded 5S rRNAs belong to the bacterial orders Clostridiales, Halanaerobiales, Thermoanaerobacterales, and Alteromonadales as well as the archael order Halobacterales When several copies of a 5S rRNA gene are present in a genome, the expanded versions may coexist with normal 5S rRNA genes. The insertion sequences are typically capable of forming extended helices, which do not seemingly interfere with folding of the conserved core. The expanded 5S rRNAs have largely been overlooked in 5S rRNA databases.
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MESH Headings
- Alteromonadaceae/classification
- Alteromonadaceae/genetics
- Alteromonadaceae/metabolism
- Base Pairing
- Base Sequence
- Clostridiales/classification
- Clostridiales/genetics
- Clostridiales/metabolism
- Firmicutes/classification
- Firmicutes/genetics
- Firmicutes/metabolism
- Genome, Archaeal
- Genome, Bacterial
- Halobacteriales/classification
- Halobacteriales/genetics
- Halobacteriales/metabolism
- Nucleic Acid Conformation
- Phylogeny
- RNA, Archaeal/chemistry
- RNA, Archaeal/genetics
- RNA, Archaeal/metabolism
- RNA, Bacterial/chemistry
- RNA, Bacterial/genetics
- RNA, Bacterial/metabolism
- RNA, Ribosomal, 5S/chemistry
- RNA, Ribosomal, 5S/genetics
- RNA, Ribosomal, 5S/metabolism
- Thermoanaerobacterium/classification
- Thermoanaerobacterium/genetics
- Thermoanaerobacterium/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor G Stepanov
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204-5001, USA
| | - George E Fox
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204-5001, USA
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5
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Wolff P, Villette C, Zumsteg J, Heintz D, Antoine L, Chane-Woon-Ming B, Droogmans L, Grosjean H, Westhof E. Comparative patterns of modified nucleotides in individual tRNA species from a mesophilic and two thermophilic archaea. RNA 2020; 26:1957-1975. [PMID: 32994183 PMCID: PMC7668247 DOI: 10.1261/rna.077537.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
To improve and complete our knowledge of archaeal tRNA modification patterns, we have identified and compared the modification pattern (type and location) in tRNAs of three very different archaeal species, Methanococcus maripaludis (a mesophilic methanogen), Pyrococcus furiosus (a hyperthermophile thermococcale), and Sulfolobus acidocaldarius (an acidophilic thermophilic sulfolobale). Most abundant isoacceptor tRNAs (79 in total) for each of the 20 amino acids were isolated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by in-gel RNase digestions. The resulting oligonucleotide fragments were separated by nanoLC and their nucleotide content analyzed by mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Analysis of total modified nucleosides obtained from complete digestion of bulk tRNAs was also performed. Distinct base- and/or ribose-methylations, cytidine acetylations, and thiolated pyrimidines were identified, some at new positions in tRNAs. Novel, some tentatively identified, modifications were also found. The least diversified modification landscape is observed in the mesophilic Methanococcus maripaludis and the most complex one in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius Notable observations are the frequent occurrence of ac4C nucleotides in thermophilic archaeal tRNAs, the presence of m7G at positions 1 and 10 in Pyrococcus furiosus tRNAs, and the use of wyosine derivatives at position 37 of tRNAs, especially those decoding U1- and C1-starting codons. These results complete those already obtained by others with sets of archaeal tRNAs from Methanocaldococcus jannaschii and Haloferax volcanii.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Wolff
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, F-67084, Strasbourg, France
| | - Claire Villette
- Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, F-67084, Strasbourg, France
| | - Julie Zumsteg
- Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, F-67084, Strasbourg, France
| | - Dimitri Heintz
- Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, F-67084, Strasbourg, France
| | - Laura Antoine
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, F-67084, Strasbourg, France
| | - Béatrice Chane-Woon-Ming
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, F-67084, Strasbourg, France
| | - Louis Droogmans
- Laboratoire de Chimie Biologique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Institut Labiris, B-1070, Belgium
| | - Henri Grosjean
- Laboratoire de Chimie Biologique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Institut Labiris, B-1070, Belgium
| | - Eric Westhof
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, F-67084, Strasbourg, France
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6
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Sas-Chen A, Thomas JM, Matzov D, Taoka M, Nance KD, Nir R, Bryson KM, Shachar R, Liman GLS, Burkhart BW, Gamage ST, Nobe Y, Briney CA, Levy MJ, Fuchs RT, Robb GB, Hartmann J, Sharma S, Lin Q, Florens L, Washburn MP, Isobe T, Santangelo TJ, Shalev-Benami M, Meier JL, Schwartz S. Dynamic RNA acetylation revealed by quantitative cross-evolutionary mapping. Nature 2020; 583:638-643. [PMID: 32555463 PMCID: PMC8130014 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2418-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 145] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) is an ancient and highly conserved RNA modification that is present on tRNA and rRNA and has recently been investigated in eukaryotic mRNA1-3. However, the distribution, dynamics and functions of cytidine acetylation have yet to be fully elucidated. Here we report ac4C-seq, a chemical genomic method for the transcriptome-wide quantitative mapping of ac4C at single-nucleotide resolution. In human and yeast mRNAs, ac4C sites are not detected but can be induced-at a conserved sequence motif-via the ectopic overexpression of eukaryotic acetyltransferase complexes. By contrast, cross-evolutionary profiling revealed unprecedented levels of ac4C across hundreds of residues in rRNA, tRNA, non-coding RNA and mRNA from hyperthermophilic archaea. Ac4C is markedly induced in response to increases in temperature, and acetyltransferase-deficient archaeal strains exhibit temperature-dependent growth defects. Visualization of wild-type and acetyltransferase-deficient archaeal ribosomes by cryo-electron microscopy provided structural insights into the temperature-dependent distribution of ac4C and its potential thermoadaptive role. Our studies quantitatively define the ac4C landscape, providing a technical and conceptual foundation for elucidating the role of this modification in biology and disease4-6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aldema Sas-Chen
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Justin M Thomas
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Donna Matzov
- Department of Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Masato Taoka
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kellie D Nance
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Ronit Nir
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Keri M Bryson
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Ran Shachar
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Geraldy L S Liman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Brett W Burkhart
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | - Yuko Nobe
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Chloe A Briney
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD, USA
| | | | - Ryan T Fuchs
- RNA Research Division, New England Biolabs, Inc, Ipswich, MA, USA
| | - G Brett Robb
- RNA Research Division, New England Biolabs, Inc, Ipswich, MA, USA
| | - Jesse Hartmann
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Sunny Sharma
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Qishan Lin
- RNA Epitranscriptomics and Proteomics Resource, University at Albany, Albany, NY, USA
| | | | | | - Toshiaki Isobe
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Thomas J Santangelo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Moran Shalev-Benami
- Department of Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
| | - Jordan L Meier
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD, USA.
| | - Schraga Schwartz
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
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7
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Majumder M, Mukhopadhyay S, Kharel P, Gupta R. The presence of the ACA box in archaeal H/ACA guide RNAs promotes atypical pseudouridylation. RNA 2020; 26:396-418. [PMID: 31919243 PMCID: PMC7075261 DOI: 10.1261/rna.073734.119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2019] [Accepted: 12/30/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Archaea and eukaryotes, in addition to protein-only enzymes, also possess ribonucleoproteins containing an H/ACA guide RNA plus four proteins that produce pseudouridine (Ψ). Although typical conditions for these RNA-guided reactions are known, certain variant conditions allow pseudouridylation. We used mutants of the two stem-loops of the Haloferax volcanii sR-h45 RNA that guides three pseudouridylations in 23S rRNA and their target RNAs to characterize modifications under various atypical conditions. The 5' stem-loop produces Ψ2605 and the 3' stem-loop produces Ψ1940 and Ψ1942. The latter two modifications require unpaired "UVUN" (V = A, C, or G) in the target and ACA box in the guide. Ψ1942 modification requires the presence of U1940 (or Ψ1940). Ψ1940 is not produced in the Ψ1942-containing substrate, suggesting a sequential modification of the two residues. The ACA box of a single stem-loop guide is not required when typically unpaired "UN" is up to 17 bases from its position in the guide, but is needed when the distance increases to 19 bases or the N is paired. However, ANA of the H box of the double stem-loop guide is needed even for the 5' typical pseudouridylation. The most 5' unpaired U in a string of U's is converted to Ψ, and in the absence of an unpaired U, a paired U can also be modified. Certain mutants of the Cbf5 protein affect pseudouridylation by the two stem-loops of sR-h45 differently. This study will help elucidate the conditions for production of nonconstitutive Ψ's, determine functions for orphan H/ACA RNAs and in target designing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mrinmoyee Majumder
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901-4413, USA
| | - Shaoni Mukhopadhyay
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901-4413, USA
| | - Parinati Kharel
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901-4413, USA
| | - Ramesh Gupta
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901-4413, USA
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8
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Huang L, Ashraf S, Lilley DMJ. The role of RNA structure in translational regulation by L7Ae protein in archaea. RNA 2019; 25:60-69. [PMID: 30327333 PMCID: PMC6298567 DOI: 10.1261/rna.068510.118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2018] [Accepted: 10/07/2018] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
A recent study has shown that archaeal L7Ae binds to a putative k-turn structure in the 5'-leader of the mRNA of its structural gene to regulate translation. To function as a regulator, the RNA should be unstructured in the absence of protein, but it should adopt a k-turn-containing stem-loop on binding L7Ae. Sequence analysis of UTR sequences indicates that their k-turn elements will be unable to fold in the absence of L7Ae, and we have demonstrated this experimentally in solution using FRET for the Archaeoglobus fulgidus sequence. We have solved the X-ray crystal structure of the complex of the A. fulgidus RNA bound to its cognate L7Ae protein. The RNA adopts a standard k-turn conformation that is specifically recognized by the L7Ae protein, so stabilizing the stem-loop. In-line probing of the natural-sequence UTR shows that the RNA is unstructured in the absence of L7Ae binding, but folds on binding the protein such that the ribosome binding site is occluded. Thus, L7Ae regulates its own translation by switching the conformation of the RNA to alter accessibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Huang
- Cancer Research UK Nucleic Acid Structure Research Group, The University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Saira Ashraf
- Cancer Research UK Nucleic Acid Structure Research Group, The University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - David M J Lilley
- Cancer Research UK Nucleic Acid Structure Research Group, The University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
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9
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Abstract
Structural biology studies of archaeal and yeast box C/D ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs) reveal a surprisingly wide range of forms. If form ever follows function, the different structures of box C/D small ribonucleoprotein particles (snoRNPs) may reflect their versatile functional roles beyond what has been recognized. A large majority of box C/D RNPs serve to site-specifically methylate the ribosomal RNA, typically as independent complexes. Select members of the box C/D snoRNPs also are essential components of the megadalton RNP enzyme, the small subunit processome that is responsible for processing ribosomal RNA. Other box C/D RNPs continue to be uncovered with either unexpected or unknown functions. We summarize currently known box C/D RNP structures in this review and identify the Nop56/58 and box C/D RNA subunits as the key elements underlying the observed structural diversity, and likely, the diverse functional roles of box C/D RNPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ge Yu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, USA
| | - Yu Zhao
- Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, USA
| | - Hong Li
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, USA
- Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, USA
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10
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Mao G, Srivastava AS, Wu S, Kosek D, Lindell M, Kirsebom LA. Critical domain interactions for type A RNase P RNA catalysis with and without the specificity domain. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0192873. [PMID: 29509761 PMCID: PMC5839562 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2017] [Accepted: 01/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The natural trans-acting ribozyme RNase P RNA (RPR) is composed of two domains in which the catalytic (C-) domain mediates cleavage of various substrates. The C-domain alone, after removal of the second specificity (S-) domain, catalyzes this reaction as well, albeit with reduced efficiency. Here we provide experimental evidence indicating that efficient cleavage mediated by the Escherichia coli C-domain (Eco CP RPR) with and without the C5 protein likely depends on an interaction referred to as the "P6-mimic". Moreover, the P18 helix connects the C- and S-domains between its loop and the P8 helix in the S-domain (the P8/ P18-interaction). In contrast to the "P6-mimic", the presence of P18 does not contribute to the catalytic performance by the C-domain lacking the S-domain in cleavage of an all ribo model hairpin loop substrate while deletion or disruption of the P8/ P18-interaction in full-size RPR lowers the catalytic efficiency in cleavage of the same model hairpin loop substrate in keeping with previously reported data using precursor tRNAs. Consistent with that P18 is not required for cleavage mediated by the C-domain we show that the archaeal Pyrococcus furiosus RPR C-domain, which lacks the P18 helix, is catalytically active in trans without the S-domain and any protein. Our data also suggest that the S-domain has a larger impact on catalysis for E. coli RPR compared to P. furiosus RPR. Finally, we provide data indicating that the absence of the S-domain and P18, or the P8/ P18-interaction in full-length RPR influences the charge distribution near the cleavage site in the RPR-substrate complex to a small but reproducible extent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanzhong Mao
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Abhishek S. Srivastava
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala, Sweden
- Discovery Sciences, AstraZeneca R&D, Cambridge Science Park, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Shiying Wu
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - David Kosek
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Magnus Lindell
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Leif A. Kirsebom
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala, Sweden
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11
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Meyer MM. rRNA Mimicry in RNA Regulation of Gene Expression. Microbiol Spectr 2018. [PMID: 29546840 DOI: 10.1128/microbiolspecrwr-0006-2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The rRNA is the largest and most abundant RNA in bacterial and archaeal cells. It is also one of the best-characterized RNAs in terms of its structural motifs and sequence variation. Production of ribosome components including >50 ribosomal proteins (r-proteins) consumes significant cellular resources. Thus, RNA cis-regulatory structures that interact with r-proteins to repress further r-protein synthesis play an important role in maintaining appropriate stoichiometry between r-proteins and rRNA. Classically, such mRNA structures were thought to directly mimic the rRNA. However, more than 30 years of research has demonstrated that a variety of different recognition and regulatory paradigms are present. This review will demonstrate how structural mimicry between the rRNA and mRNA cis-regulatory structures may take many different forms. The collection of mRNA structures that interact with r-proteins to regulate r-protein operons are best characterized in Escherichia coli, but are increasingly found within species from nearly all phyla of bacteria and several archaea. Furthermore, they represent a unique opportunity to assess the plasticity of RNA structure in the context of RNA-protein interactions. The binding determinants imposed by r-proteins to allow regulation can be fulfilled in many ways. Some r-protein-interacting mRNAs are immediately obvious as rRNA mimics from primary sequence similarity, others are identifiable only after secondary or tertiary structure determination, and some show no obvious similarity. In addition, across different bacterial species a host of different mechanisms of action have been characterized, showing that there is no simple one-size-fits-all solution.
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Oshima K, Gao X, Hayashi S, Ueda T, Nakashima T, Kimura M. Crystal structures of the archaeal RNase P protein Rpp38 in complex with RNA fragments containing a K-turn motif. Acta Crystallogr F Struct Biol Commun 2018; 74:57-64. [PMID: 29372908 PMCID: PMC5947693 DOI: 10.1107/s2053230x17018039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
A characteristic feature of archaeal ribonuclease P (RNase P) RNAs is that they have extended helices P12.1 and P12.2 containing kink-turn (K-turn) motifs to which the archaeal RNase P protein Rpp38, a homologue of the human RNase P protein Rpp38, specifically binds. PhoRpp38 from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus horikoshii is involved in the elevation of the optimum temperature of the reconstituted RNase P by binding the K-turns in P12.1 and P12.2. Previously, the crystal structure of PhoRpp38 in complex with the K-turn in P12.2 was determined at 3.4 Å resolution. In this study, the crystal structure of PhoRpp38 in complex with the K-turn in P12.2 was improved to 2.1 Å resolution and the structure of PhoRpp38 in complex with the K-turn in P12.1 was also determined at a resolution of 3.1 Å. Both structures revealed that Lys35, Asn38 and Glu39 in PhoRpp38 interact with characteristic G·A and A·G pairs in the K-turn, while Thr37, Asp59, Lys84, Glu94, Ala96 and Ala98 in PhoRpp38 interact with the three-nucleotide bulge in the K-turn. Moreover, an extended stem-loop containing P10-P12.2 in complex with PhoRpp38, as well as PhoRpp21 and PhoRpp29, which are the archaeal homologues of the human proteins Rpp21 and Rpp29, respectively, was affinity-purified and crystallized. The crystals thus grown diffracted to a resolution of 6.35 Å. Structure determination of the crystals will demonstrate the previously proposed secondary structure of stem-loops including helices P12.1 and P12.2 and will also provide insight into the structural organization of the specificity domain in P. horikoshii RNase P RNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kosuke Oshima
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Graduate School, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
| | - Xuzhu Gao
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Graduate School of Systems Life Sciences, Kyushu University, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
| | - Seiichiro Hayashi
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Graduate School, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
| | - Toshifumi Ueda
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Graduate School, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
| | - Takashi Nakashima
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Graduate School, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Graduate School of Systems Life Sciences, Kyushu University, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
| | - Makoto Kimura
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Graduate School, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Graduate School of Systems Life Sciences, Kyushu University, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
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Ashraf S, Huang L, Lilley DMJ. Sequence determinants of the folding properties of box C/D kink-turns in RNA. RNA 2017; 23:1927-1935. [PMID: 28956757 PMCID: PMC5689011 DOI: 10.1261/rna.063453.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2017] [Accepted: 09/15/2017] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Folding properties differ markedly between kink-turns (k-turns) that have different biological functions. While ribosomal and riboswitch k-turns generally fold into their kinked conformation on addition of metal ions, box C/D snoRNP k-turns remain completely unfolded under these conditions, although they fold on addition of L7Ae protein. Sequence elements have been systematically exchanged between a standard ribosomal k-turn (Kt-7) that folds on addition of metal ions, and a box C/D k-turn. Folding was studied using fluorescence resonance energy transfer and gel electrophoresis. Three sequence elements each contribute in an approximately additive manner to the different folding properties of Kt-7 and box C/D k-turns from archaea. Bioinformatic analysis indicates that k-turn sequences evolve sequences that suit their folding properties to their biological function. The majority of ribosomal and riboswitch k-turns have sequences allowing unassisted folding in response to the presence of metal ions. In contrast, box C/D k-turns have sequences that require the binding of proteins to drive folding into the kinked conformation, consistent with their role in the assembly of the box C/D snoRNP apparatus. The rules governing the influence of sequence on folding properties can be applied to other standard k-turns to predict their folding characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saira Ashraf
- Cancer Research UK Nucleic Acid Structure Research Group, MSI/WTB Complex, The University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Lin Huang
- Cancer Research UK Nucleic Acid Structure Research Group, MSI/WTB Complex, The University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - David M J Lilley
- Cancer Research UK Nucleic Acid Structure Research Group, MSI/WTB Complex, The University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom
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Monestier A, Aleksandrov A, Coureux PD, Panvert M, Mechulam Y, Schmitt E. The structure of an E. coli tRNA fMet A 1-U 72 variant shows an unusual conformation of the A 1-U 72 base pair. RNA 2017; 23:673-682. [PMID: 28143889 PMCID: PMC5393177 DOI: 10.1261/rna.057877.116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2016] [Accepted: 01/26/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Translation initiation in eukaryotes and archaea involves a methionylated initiator tRNA delivered to the ribosome in a ternary complex with e/aIF2 and GTP. Eukaryotic and archaeal initiator tRNAs contain a highly conserved A1-U72 base pair at the top of the acceptor stem. The importance of this base pair to discriminate initiator tRNAs from elongator tRNAs has been established previously using genetics and biochemistry. However, no structural data illustrating how the A1-U72 base pair participates in the accurate selection of the initiator tRNAs by the translation initiation systems are available. Here, we describe the crystal structure of a mutant E. coli initiator tRNAfMetA1-U72, aminoacylated with methionine, in which the C1:A72 mismatch at the end of the tRNA acceptor stem has been changed to an A1-U72 base pair. Sequence alignments show that the mutant E. coli tRNA is a good mimic of archaeal initiator tRNAs. The crystal structure, determined at 2.8 Å resolution, shows that the A1-U72 pair adopts an unusual arrangement. A1 is in a syn conformation and forms a single H-bond interaction with U72 This interaction requires protonation of the N1 atom of A1 Moreover, the 5' phosphoryl group folds back into the major groove of the acceptor stem and interacts with the N7 atom of G2 A possible role of this unusual geometry of the A1-U72 pair in the recognition of the initiator tRNA by its partners during eukaryotic and archaeal translation initiation is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Auriane Monestier
- Laboratoire de Biochimie, Ecole polytechnique, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91128 Palaiseau cedex, France
| | - Alexey Aleksandrov
- Laboratoire de Biochimie, Ecole polytechnique, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91128 Palaiseau cedex, France
| | - Pierre-Damien Coureux
- Laboratoire de Biochimie, Ecole polytechnique, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91128 Palaiseau cedex, France
| | - Michel Panvert
- Laboratoire de Biochimie, Ecole polytechnique, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91128 Palaiseau cedex, France
| | - Yves Mechulam
- Laboratoire de Biochimie, Ecole polytechnique, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91128 Palaiseau cedex, France
| | - Emmanuelle Schmitt
- Laboratoire de Biochimie, Ecole polytechnique, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91128 Palaiseau cedex, France
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Morten MJ, Gamsjaeger R, Cubeddu L, Kariawasam R, Peregrina J, Penedo JC, White MF. High-affinity RNA binding by a hyperthermophilic single-stranded DNA-binding protein. Extremophiles 2017; 21:369-379. [PMID: 28074284 PMCID: PMC5346138 DOI: 10.1007/s00792-016-0910-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Single-stranded DNA-binding proteins (SSBs), including replication protein A (RPA) in eukaryotes, play a central role in DNA replication, recombination, and repair. SSBs utilise an oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding (OB) fold domain to bind DNA, and typically oligomerise in solution to bring multiple OB fold domains together in the functional SSB. SSBs from hyperthermophilic crenarchaea, such as Sulfolobus solfataricus, have an unusual structure with a single OB fold coupled to a flexible C-terminal tail. The OB fold resembles those in RPA, whilst the tail is reminiscent of bacterial SSBs and mediates interaction with other proteins. One paradigm in the field is that SSBs bind specifically to ssDNA and much less strongly to RNA, ensuring that their functions are restricted to DNA metabolism. Here, we use a combination of biochemical and biophysical approaches to demonstrate that the binding properties of S. solfataricus SSB are essentially identical for ssDNA and ssRNA. These features may represent an adaptation to a hyperthermophilic lifestyle, where DNA and RNA damage is a more frequent event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Morten
- Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK
| | - Roland Gamsjaeger
- School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
- School of Molecular Bioscience, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Liza Cubeddu
- School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
- School of Molecular Bioscience, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Ruvini Kariawasam
- School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
- School of Molecular Bioscience, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Jose Peregrina
- Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK
| | - J Carlos Penedo
- Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK
| | - Malcolm F White
- Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK.
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Babski J, Haas KA, Näther-Schindler D, Pfeiffer F, Förstner KU, Hammelmann M, Hilker R, Becker A, Sharma CM, Marchfelder A, Soppa J. Genome-wide identification of transcriptional start sites in the haloarchaeon Haloferax volcanii based on differential RNA-Seq (dRNA-Seq). BMC Genomics 2016; 17:629. [PMID: 27519343 PMCID: PMC4983044 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-016-2920-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2016] [Accepted: 07/07/2016] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Differential RNA-Seq (dRNA-Seq) is a recently developed method of performing primary transcriptome analyses that allows for the genome-wide mapping of transcriptional start sites (TSSs) and the identification of novel transcripts. Although the transcriptomes of diverse bacterial species have been characterized by dRNA-Seq, the transcriptome analysis of archaeal species is still rather limited. Therefore, we used dRNA-Seq to characterize the primary transcriptome of the model archaeon Haloferax volcanii. RESULTS Three independent cultures of Hfx. volcanii grown under optimal conditions to the mid-exponential growth phase were used to determine the primary transcriptome and map the 5'-ends of the transcripts. In total, 4749 potential TSSs were detected. A position weight matrix (PWM) was derived for the promoter predictions, and the results showed that 64 % of the TSSs were preceded by stringent or relaxed basal promoters. Of the identified TSSs, 1851 belonged to protein-coding genes. Thus, fewer than half (46 %) of the 4040 protein-coding genes were expressed under optimal growth conditions. Seventy-two percent of all protein-coding transcripts were leaderless, which emphasized that this pathway is the major pathway for translation initiation in haloarchaea. A total of 2898 of the TSSs belonged to potential non-coding RNAs, which accounted for an unexpectedly high fraction (61 %) of all transcripts. Most of the non-coding TSSs had not been previously described (2792) and represented novel sequences (59 % of all TSSs). A large fraction of the potential novel non-coding transcripts were cis-antisense RNAs (1244 aTSSs). A strong negative correlation between the levels of antisense transcripts and cognate sense mRNAs was found, which suggested that the negative regulation of gene expression via antisense RNAs may play an important role in haloarchaea. The other types of novel non-coding transcripts corresponded to internal transcripts overlapping with mRNAs (1153 iTSSs) and intergenic small RNA (sRNA) candidates (395 TSSs). CONCLUSION This study provides a comprehensive map of the primary transcriptome of Hfx. volcanii grown under optimal conditions. Fewer than half of all protein-coding genes have been transcribed under these conditions. Unexpectedly, more than half of the detected TSSs belonged to several classes of non-coding RNAs. Thus, RNA-based regulation appears to play a more important role in haloarchaea than previously anticipated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Babski
- Institute for Molecular Biosciences, Goethe University, Biocentre, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, D-60439 Frankfurt, Germany
| | | | - Daniela Näther-Schindler
- Institute for Molecular Biosciences, Goethe University, Biocentre, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, D-60439 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Friedhelm Pfeiffer
- Computational Biology Group, MaxPlanckInstitute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Konrad U. Förstner
- Research Center for Infectious Diseases (ZINF), University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Str. 2/D15, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Hammelmann
- Institute for Molecular Biosciences, Goethe University, Biocentre, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, D-60439 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Rolf Hilker
- Bioinformatik und Systembiologie, University of Gießen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 58, 35392 Gießen, Germany
| | - Anke Becker
- LOEWE-Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Hans-Meerwein-Str., 35032 Marburg, Germany
| | - Cynthia M. Sharma
- Research Center for Infectious Diseases (ZINF), University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Str. 2/D15, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | | | - Jörg Soppa
- Institute for Molecular Biosciences, Goethe University, Biocentre, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, D-60439 Frankfurt, Germany
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Sheppard NF, Glover CVC, Terns RM, Terns MP. The CRISPR-associated Csx1 protein of Pyrococcus furiosus is an adenosine-specific endoribonuclease. RNA 2016; 22:216-24. [PMID: 26647461 PMCID: PMC4712672 DOI: 10.1261/rna.039842.113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2015] [Accepted: 10/27/2015] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Prokaryotes are frequently exposed to potentially harmful invasive nucleic acids from phages, plasmids, and transposons. One method of defense is the CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune system. Diverse CRISPR-Cas systems form distinct ribonucleoprotein effector complexes that target and cleave invasive nucleic acids to provide immunity. The Type III-B Cmr effector complex has been found to target the RNA and DNA of the invader in the various bacterial and archaeal organisms where it has been characterized. Interestingly, the gene encoding the Csx1 protein is frequently located in close proximity to the Cmr1-6 genes in many genomes, implicating a role for Csx1 in Cmr function. However, evidence suggests that Csx1 is not a stably associated component of the Cmr effector complex, but is necessary for DNA silencing by the Cmr system in Sulfolobus islandicus. To investigate the function of the Csx1 protein, we characterized the activity of recombinant Pyrococcus furiosus Csx1 against various nucleic acid substrates. We show that Csx1 is a metal-independent, endoribonuclease that acts selectively on single-stranded RNA and cleaves specifically after adenosines. The RNA cleavage activity of Csx1 is dependent upon a conserved HEPN motif located within the C-terminal domain of the protein. This motif is also key for activity in other known ribonucleases. Collectively, the findings indicate that invader silencing by Type III-B CRISPR-Cas systems relies both on RNA and DNA nuclease activities from the Cmr effector complex as well as on the affiliated, trans-acting Csx1 endoribonuclease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nolan F Sheppard
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
| | - Claiborne V C Glover
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
| | - Rebecca M Terns
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
| | - Michael P Terns
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
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Toffano-Nioche C, Gautheret D, Leclerc F. Revisiting the structure/function relationships of H/ACA(-like) RNAs: a unified model for Euryarchaea and Crenarchaea. Nucleic Acids Res 2015; 43:7744-61. [PMID: 26240384 PMCID: PMC4652768 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkv756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2015] [Revised: 07/07/2015] [Accepted: 07/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
A structural and functional classification of H/ACA and H/ACA-like motifs is obtained from the analysis of the H/ACA guide RNAs which have been identified previously in the genomes of Euryarchaea (Pyrococcus) and Crenarchaea (Pyrobaculum). A unified structure/function model is proposed based on the common structural determinants shared by H/ACA and H/ACA-like motifs in both Euryarchaea and Crenarchaea. Using a computational approach, structural and energetic rules for the guide:target RNA-RNA interactions are derived from structural and functional data on the H/ACA RNP particles. H/ACA(-like) motifs found in Pyrococcus are evaluated through the classification and their biological relevance is discussed. Extra-ribosomal targets found in both Pyrococcus and Pyrobaculum might support the hypothesis of a gene regulation mediated by H/ACA(-like) guide RNAs in archaea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Toffano-Nioche
- I2BC, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris Sud, 1 avenue de la terrasse, 91198 Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - Daniel Gautheret
- I2BC, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris Sud, 1 avenue de la terrasse, 91198 Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - Fabrice Leclerc
- I2BC, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris Sud, 1 avenue de la terrasse, 91198 Gif sur Yvette, France
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Tillault AS, Fourmann JB, Loegler C, Wieden HJ, Kothe U, Charpentier B. Contribution of two conserved histidines to the dual activity of archaeal RNA guide-dependent and -independent pseudouridine synthase Cbf5. RNA 2015; 21:1233-1239. [PMID: 25990001 PMCID: PMC4478342 DOI: 10.1261/rna.051425.115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2015] [Accepted: 04/09/2015] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
In all organisms, several distinct stand-alone pseudouridine synthase (PUS) family enzymes are expressed to isomerize uridine into pseudouridine (Ψ) by specific recognition of RNAs. In addition, Ψs are generated in Archaea and Eukaryotes by PUS enzymes which are organized as ribonucleoprotein particles (RNP)--the box H/ACA s/snoRNPs. For this modification system, a unique TruB-like catalytic PUS subunit is associated with various RNA guides which specifically target and secure substrate RNAs by base-pairing. The archaeal Cbf5 PUS displays the special feature of exhibiting both RNA guide-dependent and -independent activities. Structures of substrate-bound TruB and H/ACA sRNP revealed the importance of histidines in positioning the target uridine in the active site. To analyze the respective role of H60 and H77, we have generated variants carrying alanine substitutions at these positions. The impact of the mutations was analyzed for unguided modifications U(55) in tRNA and U2603 in 23S rRNA, and for activity of the box H/ACA Pab91 sRNP enzyme. H77 (H43 in TruB), but not H60, appeared to be crucial for the RNA guide-independent activity. In contrast to earlier suggestions, H60 was found to be noncritical for the activity of the H/ACA sRNP, but contributes together with H77 to the full activity of H/ACA sRNPs. The data suggest that a similar catalytic process was conserved in the two divergent pseudouridylation systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Sophie Tillault
- Laboratoire Ingénierie Moléculaire et Physiopathologie Articulaire, UMR 7365 CNRS Université de Lorraine, Biopôle de l'Université de Lorraine, Campus Biologie Santé, 54505 Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France
| | - Jean-Baptiste Fourmann
- Laboratoire Ingénierie Moléculaire et Physiopathologie Articulaire, UMR 7365 CNRS Université de Lorraine, Biopôle de l'Université de Lorraine, Campus Biologie Santé, 54505 Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France
| | - Christine Loegler
- Laboratoire Ingénierie Moléculaire et Physiopathologie Articulaire, UMR 7365 CNRS Université de Lorraine, Biopôle de l'Université de Lorraine, Campus Biologie Santé, 54505 Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France
| | - Hans-Joachim Wieden
- Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1K 3M4
| | - Ute Kothe
- Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1K 3M4
| | - Bruno Charpentier
- Laboratoire Ingénierie Moléculaire et Physiopathologie Articulaire, UMR 7365 CNRS Université de Lorraine, Biopôle de l'Université de Lorraine, Campus Biologie Santé, 54505 Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France
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Peng W, Feng M, Feng X, Liang YX, She Q. An archaeal CRISPR type III-B system exhibiting distinctive RNA targeting features and mediating dual RNA and DNA interference. Nucleic Acids Res 2015; 43:406-17. [PMID: 25505143 PMCID: PMC4288192 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gku1302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2014] [Revised: 11/30/2014] [Accepted: 12/01/2014] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas systems provide a small RNA-based mechanism to defend against invasive genetic elements in archaea and bacteria. To investigate the in vivo mechanism of RNA interference by two type III-B systems (Cmr-α and Cmr-β) in Sulfolobus islandicus, a genetic assay was developed using plasmids carrying an artificial mini-CRISPR (AC) locus with a single spacer. After pAC plasmids were introduced into different strains, Northern analyses confirmed that mature crRNAs were produced from the plasmid-borne CRISPR loci, which then guided gene silencing to target gene expression. Spacer mutagenesis identified a trinucleotide sequence in the 3'-region of crRNA that was crucial for RNA interference. Studying mutants lacking Cmr-α or Cmr-β system showed that each Cmr complex exhibited RNA interference. Strikingly, these analyses further revealed that the two Cmr systems displayed distinctive interference features. Whereas Cmr-β complexes targeted transcripts and could be recycled in RNA cleavage, Cmr-α complexes probably targeted nascent RNA transcripts and remained associated with the substrate. Moreover, Cmr-β exhibited much stronger RNA cleavage activity than Cmr-α. Since we previously showed that S. islandicus Cmr-α mediated transcription-dependent DNA interference, the Cmr-α constitutes the first CRISPR system exhibiting dual targeting of RNA and DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenfang Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology and College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070 Wuhan, China Archaea Centre, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Mingxia Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology and College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070 Wuhan, China
| | - Xu Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology and College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070 Wuhan, China
| | - Yun Xiang Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology and College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070 Wuhan, China
| | - Qunxin She
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology and College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070 Wuhan, China Archaea Centre, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
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21
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Lindgreen S, Umu SU, Lai ASW, Eldai H, Liu W, McGimpsey S, Wheeler NE, Biggs PJ, Thomson NR, Barquist L, Poole AM, Gardner PP. Robust identification of noncoding RNA from transcriptomes requires phylogenetically-informed sampling. PLoS Comput Biol 2014; 10:e1003907. [PMID: 25357249 PMCID: PMC4214555 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2014] [Accepted: 09/11/2014] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Noncoding RNAs are integral to a wide range of biological processes, including translation, gene regulation, host-pathogen interactions and environmental sensing. While genomics is now a mature field, our capacity to identify noncoding RNA elements in bacterial and archaeal genomes is hampered by the difficulty of de novo identification. The emergence of new technologies for characterizing transcriptome outputs, notably RNA-seq, are improving noncoding RNA identification and expression quantification. However, a major challenge is to robustly distinguish functional outputs from transcriptional noise. To establish whether annotation of existing transcriptome data has effectively captured all functional outputs, we analysed over 400 publicly available RNA-seq datasets spanning 37 different Archaea and Bacteria. Using comparative tools, we identify close to a thousand highly-expressed candidate noncoding RNAs. However, our analyses reveal that capacity to identify noncoding RNA outputs is strongly dependent on phylogenetic sampling. Surprisingly, and in stark contrast to protein-coding genes, the phylogenetic window for effective use of comparative methods is perversely narrow: aggregating public datasets only produced one phylogenetic cluster where these tools could be used to robustly separate unannotated noncoding RNAs from a null hypothesis of transcriptional noise. Our results show that for the full potential of transcriptomics data to be realized, a change in experimental design is paramount: effective transcriptomics requires phylogeny-aware sampling. We have analysed more than 400 public transcriptomes, generated using RNA-seq, from almost 40 strains of Bacteria and Archaea. We discovered that the capacity to identify noncoding RNA outputs from this data is strongly dependent on phylogenetic sampling. Our results show that, for the full potential of transcriptomics data as a discovery tool to be realized, a change in experimental design is critical: effective comparative transcriptomics requires phylogeny-aware sampling. We also examined how comparative transcriptomics experiments can be used to effectively identify RNA elements. We find that, for RNA element discovery, a phylogeny-informed sampling approach is more effective than analyses of individual species. Phylogeny-informed sampling reveals a narrow ‘Goldilocks Zone’ (where species are not too similar and not too divergent) for RNA identification using clusters of related species. In stark contrast to protein-coding genes, not only is the phylogenetic window for the effective use of comparative methods for noncoding RNA identification perversely narrow, but few existing datasets sit within this Goldilocks Zone: by aggregating public datasets, we were only able to create one phylogenetic cluster where comparative tools could be used to confidently separate unannotated noncoding RNAs from transcriptional noise.
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MESH Headings
- Archaea/genetics
- Bacteria/genetics
- Cluster Analysis
- Computational Biology
- Databases, Genetic
- Gene Expression Profiling/methods
- Phylogeny
- RNA, Archaeal/chemistry
- RNA, Archaeal/classification
- RNA, Archaeal/genetics
- RNA, Bacterial/chemistry
- RNA, Bacterial/classification
- RNA, Bacterial/genetics
- RNA, Untranslated/chemistry
- RNA, Untranslated/classification
- RNA, Untranslated/genetics
- Transcriptome/genetics
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Affiliation(s)
- Stinus Lindgreen
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Sinan Uğur Umu
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Biomolecular Interaction Centre, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Alicia Sook-Wei Lai
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Hisham Eldai
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Wenting Liu
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Stephanie McGimpsey
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Nicole E. Wheeler
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Patrick J. Biggs
- Institute of Veterinary, Animal & Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
- Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology & Evolution, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Nick R. Thomson
- Pathogen Genetics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Lars Barquist
- Pathogen Genetics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, United Kingdom
- Institute for Molecular Infection Biology, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Anthony M. Poole
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Biomolecular Interaction Centre, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology & Evolution, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
- * E-mail: (AMP); (PPG)
| | - Paul P. Gardner
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Biomolecular Interaction Centre, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- * E-mail: (AMP); (PPG)
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22
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Yamada C, Kato S, Ueno Y, Ishii M, Igarashi Y. Inhibitory effects of ferrihydrite on a thermophilic methanogenic community. Microbes Environ 2014; 29:227-30. [PMID: 24859310 PMCID: PMC4103531 DOI: 10.1264/jsme2.me14026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2014] [Accepted: 03/08/2014] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The addition of ferrihydrite to methanogenic microbial communities obtained from a thermophilic anaerobic digester suppressed methanogenesis in a dose-dependent manner. The amount of reducing equivalents consumed by the reduction of iron was significantly smaller than that expected from the decrease in the production of CH4, which suggested that competition between iron-reducing microorganisms and methanogens was not the most significant cause for the suppression of methanogenesis. Microbial community analyses revealed that the presence of ferrihydrite markedly affected the bacterial composition, but not the archaeal composition. These results indicate that the presence of ferrihydrite directly and indirectly suppresses thermophilic methanogenesis.
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MESH Headings
- Anaerobiosis
- Archaea/drug effects
- Archaea/genetics
- Bacteria/drug effects
- Bacteria/genetics
- Bacteria/metabolism
- Base Sequence
- DNA, Archaeal/chemistry
- DNA, Archaeal/genetics
- DNA, Bacterial/chemistry
- DNA, Bacterial/genetics
- Ferric Compounds/pharmacology
- Hot Temperature
- Iron/metabolism
- Methane/metabolism
- Methanobacteriaceae/drug effects
- Methanobacteriaceae/genetics
- Methanobacteriaceae/metabolism
- Methanosarcina/drug effects
- Methanosarcina/genetics
- Methanosarcina/metabolism
- Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
- RNA, Archaeal/chemistry
- RNA, Archaeal/genetics
- RNA, Bacterial/chemistry
- RNA, Bacterial/genetics
- RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
- Sequence Analysis, DNA
- Sewage/microbiology
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Affiliation(s)
- Chihaya Yamada
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi 1–1–1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113–8657, Japan
| | - Souichiro Kato
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukisamu-Higashi 2–17–2–1, Toyohira, Sapporo, Hokkaido 062–8517, Japan
- Division of Applied Bioscience, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-9 Nishi-9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060–8589, Japan
- Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Komaba 4–6–1, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153–8904, Japan
| | - Yoshiyuki Ueno
- Kajima Technical Research Institute, Tobitakyu 2–19–1, Chofu-shi, Tokyo 182–0036, Japan
| | - Masaharu Ishii
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi 1–1–1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113–8657, Japan
| | - Yasuo Igarashi
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi 1–1–1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113–8657, Japan
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23
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Mandal D, Köhrer C, Su D, Babu IR, Chan CT, Liu Y, Söll D, Blum P, Kuwahara M, Dedon PC, RajBhandary UL. Identification and codon reading properties of 5-cyanomethyl uridine, a new modified nucleoside found in the anticodon wobble position of mutant haloarchaeal isoleucine tRNAs. RNA 2014; 20:177-88. [PMID: 24344322 PMCID: PMC3895270 DOI: 10.1261/rna.042358.113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Most archaea and bacteria use a modified C in the anticodon wobble position of isoleucine tRNA to base pair with A but not with G of the mRNA. This allows the tRNA to read the isoleucine codon AUA without also reading the methionine codon AUG. To understand why a modified C, and not U or modified U, is used to base pair with A, we mutated the C34 in the anticodon of Haloarcula marismortui isoleucine tRNA (tRNA2(Ile)) to U, expressed the mutant tRNA in Haloferax volcanii, and purified and analyzed the tRNA. Ribosome binding experiments show that although the wild-type tRNA2(Ile) binds exclusively to the isoleucine codon AUA, the mutant tRNA binds not only to AUA but also to AUU, another isoleucine codon, and to AUG, a methionine codon. The G34 to U mutant in the anticodon of another H. marismortui isoleucine tRNA species showed similar codon binding properties. Binding of the mutant tRNA to AUG could lead to misreading of the AUG codon and insertion of isoleucine in place of methionine. This result would explain why most archaea and bacteria do not normally use U or a modified U in the anticodon wobble position of isoleucine tRNA for reading the codon AUA. Biochemical and mass spectrometric analyses of the mutant tRNAs have led to the discovery of a new modified nucleoside, 5-cyanomethyl U in the anticodon wobble position of the mutant tRNAs. 5-Cyanomethyl U is present in total tRNAs from euryarchaea but not in crenarchaea, eubacteria, or eukaryotes.
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MESH Headings
- Anticodon/genetics
- Base Pairing
- Base Sequence
- Codon/genetics
- Escherichia coli/genetics
- Haloarcula marismortui/genetics
- Haloferax/genetics
- Molecular Structure
- Point Mutation
- RNA, Archaeal/chemistry
- RNA, Archaeal/genetics
- RNA, Archaeal/metabolism
- RNA, Bacterial/genetics
- RNA, Fungal/genetics
- RNA, Transfer, Ile/chemistry
- RNA, Transfer, Ile/genetics
- RNA, Transfer, Ile/metabolism
- Ribosomes/chemistry
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genetics
- Sulfolobus/genetics
- Transfer RNA Aminoacylation
- Uridine/analogs & derivatives
- Uridine/chemistry
- Uridine/genetics
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Affiliation(s)
- Debabrata Mandal
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Caroline Köhrer
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Dan Su
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - I. Ramesh Babu
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Clement T.Y. Chan
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Yuchen Liu
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA
| | - Dieter Söll
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA
| | - Paul Blum
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508, USA
| | - Masayasu Kuwahara
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Gunma University, Kiryu, Gunma 376-8515, Japan
| | - Peter C. Dedon
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Uttam L. RajBhandary
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Corresponding authorE-mail
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24
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Manica A, Zebec Z, Steinkellner J, Schleper C. Unexpectedly broad target recognition of the CRISPR-mediated virus defence system in the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus. Nucleic Acids Res 2013; 41:10509-17. [PMID: 24021627 PMCID: PMC3905844 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkt767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2013] [Revised: 08/03/2013] [Accepted: 08/05/2013] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus carries an extensive array of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) systems able to mediate DNA degradation of invading genetic elements when complementarity to the small CRISPR-derived (cr)RNAs is given. Studying virus defence in vivo with recombinant viral variants, we demonstrate here that an unexpectedly high number of mutations are tolerated between the CRISPR-derived guide RNAs (crRNAs) and their target sequences (protospacer). Up to 15 mismatches in the crRNA still led to ∼50% of DNA degradation, when these mutations were outside the 'seed' region. More than 15 mutations were necessary to fully abolished interference. Different from other CRISPR systems investigated in vivo, mutations outside the protospacer region indicated no need for a protospacer adjacent motif sequence to confer DNA interference. However, complementarity of only 3 nucleotides between the repeat-derived 5' handle of the crRNA and nucleotides adjacent to the protospacer enabled self-recognition, i.e. protection of the host locus. Our findings show commonalities and differences among the various CRISPR-mediated defence systems and suggest that they should not merely be perceived as a 'first-barrier-defence system' but may be considered to have a broader mechanism that allows host cells to cope with viruses keeping them at reduced levels.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Christa Schleper
- Department of Genetics in Ecology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
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25
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Abstract
L7Ae is a member of a protein family that binds kink-turns (k-turns) in many functional RNA species. We have solved the X-ray crystal structure of the near-consensus sequence Kt-7 of Haloarcula marismortui bound by Archaeoglobus fulgidus L7Ae at 2.3-Å resolution. We also present a structure of Kt-7 in the absence of bound protein at 2.2-Å resolution. As a result, we can describe a general mode of recognition of k-turn structure by the L7Ae family proteins. The protein makes interactions in the widened major groove on the outer face of the k-turn. Two regions of the protein are involved. One is an α-helix that enters the major groove of the NC helix, making both nonspecific backbone interactions and specific interactions with the guanine nucleobases of the conserved G • A pairs. A hydrophobic loop makes close contact with the L1 and L2 bases, and a glutamate side chain hydrogen bonds with L1. Taken together, these interactions are highly selective for the structure of the k-turn and suggest how conformational selection of the folded k-turn occurs.
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26
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Lapinaite A, Simon B, Skjaerven L, Rakwalska-Bange M, Gabel F, Carlomagno T. The structure of the box C/D enzyme reveals regulation of RNA methylation. Nature 2013; 502:519-23. [PMID: 24121435 DOI: 10.1038/nature12581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2013] [Accepted: 08/19/2013] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Post-transcriptional modifications are essential to the cell life cycle, as they affect both pre-ribosomal RNA processing and ribosome assembly. The box C/D ribonucleoprotein enzyme that methylates ribosomal RNA at the 2'-O-ribose uses a multitude of guide RNAs as templates for the recognition of rRNA target sites. Two methylation guide sequences are combined on each guide RNA, the significance of which has remained unclear. Here we use a powerful combination of NMR spectroscopy and small-angle neutron scattering to solve the structure of the 390 kDa archaeal RNP enzyme bound to substrate RNA. We show that the two methylation guide sequences are located in different environments in the complex and that the methylation of physiological substrates targeted by the same guide RNA occurs sequentially. This structure provides a means for differential control of methylation levels at the two sites and at the same time offers an unexpected regulatory mechanism for rRNA folding.
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MESH Headings
- Apoproteins/chemistry
- Apoproteins/metabolism
- Archaeal Proteins/chemistry
- Archaeal Proteins/metabolism
- Biocatalysis
- Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone/metabolism
- Methylation
- Models, Molecular
- Multiprotein Complexes/chemistry
- Multiprotein Complexes/metabolism
- Nucleic Acid Conformation
- Pyrococcus furiosus/enzymology
- Pyrococcus furiosus/genetics
- RNA Folding
- RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional
- RNA, Archaeal/chemistry
- RNA, Archaeal/genetics
- RNA, Archaeal/metabolism
- RNA, Ribosomal/chemistry
- RNA, Ribosomal/metabolism
- Ribonucleoproteins, Small Nucleolar/chemistry
- Ribonucleoproteins, Small Nucleolar/metabolism
- RNA, Small Untranslated
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Affiliation(s)
- Audrone Lapinaite
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Structural and Computational Biology Unit, Meyerhofstrasse 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
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27
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Ueda T, Yamaguchi H, Miyanoshita M, Nakashima T, Kakuta Y, Kimura M. Characterization of the peripheral structures of archaeal RNase P RNA from Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3. J Biochem 2013; 155:25-33. [PMID: 24143022 DOI: 10.1093/jb/mvt092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Toshifumi Ueda
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Graduate School of Sytems Life Sciences, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan; and Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Graduate School, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
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28
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Bhuiya MW, Suryadi J, Zhou Z, Brown BA. Structure of the Aeropyrum pernix L7Ae multifunctional protein and insight into its extreme thermostability. Acta Crystallogr Sect F Struct Biol Cryst Commun 2013; 69:979-88. [PMID: 23989144 PMCID: PMC3758144 DOI: 10.1107/s1744309113021799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2013] [Accepted: 08/05/2013] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Archaeal ribosomal protein L7Ae is a multifunctional RNA-binding protein that directs post-transcriptional modification of archaeal RNAs. The L7Ae protein from Aeropyrum pernix (Ap L7Ae), a member of the Crenarchaea, was found to have an extremely high melting temperature (>383 K). The crystal structure of Ap L7Ae has been determined to a resolution of 1.56 Å. The structure of Ap L7Ae was compared with the structures of two homologs: hyperthermophilic Methanocaldococcus jannaschii L7Ae and the mesophilic counterpart mammalian 15.5 kD protein. The primary stabilizing feature in the Ap L7Ae protein appears to be the large number of ion pairs and extensive ion-pair network that connects secondary-structural elements. To our knowledge, Ap L7Ae is among the most thermostable single-domain monomeric proteins presently observed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jimmy Suryadi
- Department of Chemistry, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA
| | - Zholi Zhou
- Bristol-Myers Squibb, Syracuse, NY 13221, USA
| | - Bernard Andrew Brown
- Womble Carlyle Sandridge and Rice LLP, One West Fourth Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA
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29
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Su AAH, Tripp V, Randau L. RNA-Seq analyses reveal the order of tRNA processing events and the maturation of C/D box and CRISPR RNAs in the hyperthermophile Methanopyrus kandleri. Nucleic Acids Res 2013; 41:6250-8. [PMID: 23620296 PMCID: PMC3695527 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkt317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2013] [Revised: 04/03/2013] [Accepted: 04/05/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The methanogenic archaeon Methanopyrus kandleri grows near the upper temperature limit for life. Genome analyses revealed strategies to adapt to these harsh conditions and elucidated a unique transfer RNA (tRNA) C-to-U editing mechanism at base 8 for 30 different tRNA species. Here, RNA-Seq deep sequencing methodology was combined with computational analyses to characterize the small RNome of this hyperthermophilic organism and to obtain insights into the RNA metabolism at extreme temperatures. A large number of 132 small RNAs were identified that guide RNA modifications, which are expected to stabilize structured RNA molecules. The C/D box guide RNAs were shown to exist as circular RNA molecules. In addition, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats RNA processing and potential regulatory RNAs were identified. Finally, the identification of tRNA precursors before and after the unique C8-to-U8 editing activity enabled the determination of the order of tRNA processing events with termini truncation preceding intron removal. This order of tRNA maturation follows the compartmentalized tRNA processing order found in Eukaryotes and suggests its conservation during evolution.
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MESH Headings
- Euryarchaeota/genetics
- Euryarchaeota/metabolism
- High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
- Hot Temperature
- Inverted Repeat Sequences
- RNA Editing
- RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional
- RNA, Archaeal/chemistry
- RNA, Archaeal/classification
- RNA, Archaeal/metabolism
- RNA, Small Untranslated/chemistry
- RNA, Small Untranslated/classification
- RNA, Small Untranslated/metabolism
- RNA, Transfer/chemistry
- RNA, Transfer/metabolism
- Sequence Analysis, RNA
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas A. H. Su
- Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Max Planck Research Group: Prokaryotic Small RNA Biology, Karl-von-Frisch Strasse 10, 35037 Marburg, Germany and LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology (Synmikro), 35037 Marburg, Germany
| | - Vanessa Tripp
- Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Max Planck Research Group: Prokaryotic Small RNA Biology, Karl-von-Frisch Strasse 10, 35037 Marburg, Germany and LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology (Synmikro), 35037 Marburg, Germany
| | - Lennart Randau
- Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Max Planck Research Group: Prokaryotic Small RNA Biology, Karl-von-Frisch Strasse 10, 35037 Marburg, Germany and LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology (Synmikro), 35037 Marburg, Germany
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30
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Nguyen TN, You DJ, Matsumoto H, Kanaya E, Koga Y, Kanaya S. Crystal structure of metagenome-derived LC11-RNase H1 in complex with RNA/DNA hybrid. J Struct Biol 2013; 182:144-54. [PMID: 23500886 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2013.02.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2012] [Revised: 02/26/2013] [Accepted: 02/28/2013] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
LC11-RNase H1 is a Sulfolobus tokodaii RNase H1 (Sto-RNase H1) homologue isolated by metagenomic approach. In this study, the crystal structure of LC11-RNase H1 in complex with an RNA/DNA substrate was determined. Unlike Bacillus halodurans RNase H1 without hybrid binding domain (HBD) (Bh-RNase HC) and human RNase H1 without HBD (Hs-RNase HC), LC11-RNase H1 interacts with four non-consecutive 2'-OH groups of the RNA strand. The lack of interactions with four consecutive 2'-OH groups leads to a dramatic decrease in the ability of LC11-RNase H1 to cleave the DNA-RNA-DNA/DNA substrate containing four ribonucleotides as compared to those to cleave the substrates containing five and six ribonucleotides. The interaction of LC11-RNase H1 with the DNA strand is also different from those of Bh-RNase HC and Hs-RNase HC. Beside the common phosphate-binding pocket, LC11-RNase H1 has a unique DNA-binding channel. Furthermore, the active-site residues of LC11-RNase H1 are located farther away from the scissile phosphate group than those of Bh-RNase HC and Hs-RNase HC. Modeling of Sto-RNase H1 in complex with the 14bp RNA/DNA substrate, together with the structure-based mutational analyses, suggest that the ability of Sto-RNase H1 to cleave double-stranded RNA is dependent on the local conformation of the basic residues located at the DNA binding site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tri-Nhan Nguyen
- Department of Material and Life Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
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31
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Abstract
The k-turn is a widespread structural motif that introduces a tight kink into the helical axis of double-stranded RNA. The adenine bases of consecutive G•A pairs are directed toward the minor groove of the opposing helix, hydrogen bonding in a typical A-minor interaction. We show here that the available structures of k-turns divide into two classes, depending on whether N3 or N1 of the adenine at the 2b position accepts a hydrogen bond from the O2' at the -1n position. There is a coordinated structural change involving a number of hydrogen bonds between the two classes. We show here that Kt-7 can adopt either the N3 or N1 structures depending on environment. While it has the N1 structure in the ribosome, on engineering it into the SAM-I riboswitch, it changes to the N3 structure, resulting in a significant alteration in the trajectory of the helical arms.
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32
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Puglisi E, Vasileiadis S, Demiris K, Bassi D, Karpouzas DG, Capri E, Cocconcelli PS, Trevisan M. Impact of fungicides on the diversity and function of non-target ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms residing in a litter soil cover. Microb Ecol 2012; 64:692-701. [PMID: 22584298 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-012-0064-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2011] [Accepted: 04/22/2012] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Litter soil cover constitutes an important micro-ecosystem in sustainable viticulture having a key role in nutrient cycling and serving as a habitat of complex microbial communities. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) are known to regulate nitrification in soil while little is known regarding their function and diversity in litter. We investigated the effects of two fungicides, penconazole and cyprodinil, commonly used in vineyards, on the function and diversity of total and active AOB and AOA in a microcosm study. Functional changes measured via potential nitrification and structural changes assessed via denaturating gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) at the DNA and RNA levels were contrasted with pesticide dissipation in the litter layer. The latter was inversely correlated with potential nitrification, which was temporarily inhibited at the initial sampling dates (0 to 21 days) when nearly 100 % of the applied pesticide amounts was still present in the litter. Fungicides induced changes in AOB and AOA communities with RNA-DGGE analysis showing a higher sensitivity. AOA were more responsive to pesticide application compared to AOB. Potential nitrification was less sensitive to the fungicides and was restored faster than structural changes, which persisted. These results support the theory of microbial redundancy for nitrification in a stressed litter environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edoardo Puglisi
- Istituto di Microbiologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122, Piacenza, Italy
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33
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Chatterjee K, Blaby IK, Thiaville PC, Majumder M, Grosjean H, Yuan YA, Gupta R, de Crécy-Lagard V. The archaeal COG1901/DUF358 SPOUT-methyltransferase members, together with pseudouridine synthase Pus10, catalyze the formation of 1-methylpseudouridine at position 54 of tRNA. RNA 2012; 18:421-33. [PMID: 22274953 PMCID: PMC3285931 DOI: 10.1261/rna.030841.111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
The methylation of pseudouridine (Ψ) at position 54 of tRNA, producing m(1)Ψ, is a hallmark of many archaeal species, but the specific methylase involved in the formation of this modification had yet to be characterized. A comparative genomics analysis had previously identified COG1901 (DUF358), part of the SPOUT superfamily, as a candidate for this missing methylase family. To test this prediction, the COG1901 encoding gene, HVO_1989, was deleted from the Haloferax volcanii genome. Analyses of modified base contents indicated that while m(1)Ψ was present in tRNA extracted from the wild-type strain, it was absent from tRNA extracted from the mutant strain. Expression of the gene encoding COG1901 from Halobacterium sp. NRC-1, VNG1980C, complemented the m(1)Ψ minus phenotype of the ΔHVO_1989 strain. This in vivo validation was extended with in vitro tests. Using the COG1901 recombinant enzyme from Methanocaldococcus jannaschii (Mj1640), purified enzyme Pus10 from M. jannaschii and full-size tRNA transcripts or TΨ-arm (17-mer) fragments as substrates, the sequential pathway of m(1)Ψ54 formation in Archaea was reconstituted. The methylation reaction is AdoMet dependent. The efficiency of the methylase reaction depended on the identity of the residue at position 55 of the TΨ-loop. The presence of Ψ55 allowed the efficient conversion of Ψ54 to m(1)Ψ54, whereas in the presence of C55, the reaction was rather inefficient and no methylation reaction occurred if a purine was present at this position. These results led to renaming the Archaeal COG1901 members as TrmY proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kunal Chatterjee
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901-4413, USA
| | - Ian K. Blaby
- Department of Microbiology & Cell Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-0700, USA
| | - Patrick C. Thiaville
- Department of Microbiology & Cell Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-0700, USA
| | - Mrinmoyee Majumder
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901-4413, USA
| | - Henri Grosjean
- Université Paris11, IGM, CNRS, UMR 8621, Orsay, F 91405, France
| | - Y. Adam Yuan
- Department of Biological Sciences and Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117543
| | - Ramesh Gupta
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901-4413, USA
- Corresponding authors.E-mail .E-mail .
| | - Valérie de Crécy-Lagard
- Department of Microbiology & Cell Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-0700, USA
- Corresponding authors.E-mail .E-mail .
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34
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Joardar A, Malliahgari SR, Skariah G, Gupta R. 2'-O-methylation of the wobble residue of elongator pre-tRNA(Met) in Haloferax volcanii is guided by a box C/D RNA containing unique features. RNA Biol 2011; 8:782-91. [PMID: 21654217 PMCID: PMC3256356 DOI: 10.4161/rna.8.5.16015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2011] [Revised: 02/16/2011] [Accepted: 03/29/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The wobble residue C34 of Haloferax volcanii elongator tRNA(Met) is 2'-O-methylated. Neither a protein enzyme nor a guide RNA for this modification has been described. In this study, we show that this methylation is guided by a box C/D RNA targeting the intron-containing precursor of the tRNA. This guide RNA is starkly different from its homologs. This unique RNA of approximately 75 bases, named sR-tMet, is encoded in the genomes of H. volcanii and several other haloarchaea. A unique feature of sR-tMet is that the mature RNA in H. volcanii is substantially larger than its predicted size, whereas those in other haloarchaea are as predicted. While the 5'-ends of all tested haloarchaeal sR-tMets are equivalent, H. volcanii sR-tMet possesses an additional 51-base extension at its 3' end. This extension is present in the precursor but not in the mature sR-tMet of Halobacterium sp., suggesting differential 3'-end processing of sR-tMet in these two closely related organisms. Archaeal box C/D RNAs mostly contain a K-loop at the C'/D' motif. Another unique feature of sR-tMet is that its C'/D' motif lacks either a conventional K-turn or a K-loop. Instead, it contains two tandem, sheared G•A base pairs and a pyrimidine-pyrimidine pair in the non-canonical stem; the latter may form an alternative K-turn. Gel shift assays indicate that the L7Ae protein can form a stable complex with this unusual C'/D' motif, suggesting a novel RNA structure for L7Ae interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Archi Joardar
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA
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35
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Cho IM, Kazakov SA, Gopalan V. Evidence for recycling of external guide sequences during cleavage of bipartite substrates in vitro by reconstituted archaeal RNase P. J Mol Biol 2011; 405:1121-7. [PMID: 21144851 PMCID: PMC3025773 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2010.11.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2010] [Revised: 11/25/2010] [Accepted: 11/30/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
RNA-mediated RNA cleavage events are being increasingly exploited to disrupt RNA function, an important objective in post-genomic biology. RNase P, a ribonucleoprotein enzyme that catalyzes the removal of 5'-leaders from precursor tRNAs, has previously been utilized for sequence-specific cleavage of cellular RNAs. In one of these strategies, borne out in bacterial and mammalian cell culture, an external guide sequence (EGS) RNA base-paired to a target RNA makes the latter a substrate for endogenous RNase P by rendering the bipartite target RNA-EGS complex a precursor tRNA structural mimic. In this study, we first obtained evidence that four different mesophilic and thermophilic archaeal RNase P holoenzymes, reconstituted in vitro using their respective constituent RNA and protein subunits, recognize and cleave such substrate-EGS complexes. We further demonstrate that these EGSs engage in multiple rounds of substrate recognition while assisting archaeal RNase P-mediated cleavage of a target RNA in vitro. Taken together, the EGS-based approach merits consideration as a gene knockdown tool in archaea.
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Affiliation(s)
- I-Ming Cho
- Department of Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Center for RNA Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | | | - Venkat Gopalan
- Department of Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Center for RNA Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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36
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Abstract
Bacteria and archaea have evolved defense and regulatory mechanisms to cope with various environmental stressors, including virus attack. This arsenal has been expanded by the recent discovery of the versatile CRISPR-Cas system, which has two novel features. First, the host can specifically incorporate short sequences from invading genetic elements (virus or plasmid) into a region of its genome that is distinguished by clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs). Second, when these sequences are transcribed and precisely processed into small RNAs, they guide a multifunctional protein complex (Cas proteins) to recognize and cleave incoming foreign genetic material. This adaptive immunity system, which uses a library of small noncoding RNAs as a potent weapon against fast-evolving viruses, is also used as a regulatory system by the host. Exciting breakthroughs in understanding the mechanisms of the CRISPR-Cas system and its potential for biotechnological applications and understanding evolutionary dynamics are discussed.
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MESH Headings
- Adaptive Immunity
- Archaea/chemistry
- Archaea/genetics
- Archaea/immunology
- Archaea/virology
- Bacteria/chemistry
- Bacteria/genetics
- Bacteria/immunology
- Bacteria/virology
- Bacterial Proteins/chemistry
- Bacterial Proteins/genetics
- Bacterial Proteins/immunology
- Bacteriophages/genetics
- Bacteriophages/immunology
- CRISPR-Associated Proteins
- Computational Biology
- Endodeoxyribonucleases/chemistry
- Endodeoxyribonucleases/genetics
- Escherichia coli Proteins
- Evolution, Molecular
- Gene Expression Regulation, Archaeal
- Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
- Genetic Loci
- Plasmids/immunology
- RNA Interference
- RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional
- RNA, Archaeal/chemistry
- RNA, Archaeal/genetics
- RNA, Archaeal/immunology
- RNA, Bacterial/chemistry
- RNA, Bacterial/genetics
- RNA, Bacterial/immunology
- RNA, Small Untranslated/chemistry
- RNA, Small Untranslated/genetics
- RNA, Small Untranslated/immunology
- Transcription, Genetic
- Virus Diseases/genetics
- Virus Diseases/immunology
- Virus Diseases/virology
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Affiliation(s)
- Devaki Bhaya
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Plant Biology, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
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37
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Ghalei H, Hsiao HH, Urlaub H, Wahl MC, Watkins NJ. A novel Nop5-sRNA interaction that is required for efficient archaeal box C/D sRNP formation. RNA 2010; 16:2341-8. [PMID: 20962039 PMCID: PMC2995396 DOI: 10.1261/rna.2380410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2010] [Accepted: 09/16/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Archaeal and eukaryotic box C/D RNPs catalyze the 2'-O-methylation of ribosomal RNA, a modification that is essential for the correct folding and function of the ribosome. Each archaeal RNP contains three core proteins--L7Ae, Nop5, and fibrillarin (methyltransferase)--and a box C/D sRNA. Base-pairing between the sRNA guide region and the rRNA directs target site selection with the C/D and related C'/D' motifs functioning as protein binding sites. Recent structural analysis of in vitro assembled archaeal complexes has produced two divergent models of box C/D sRNP structure. In one model, the complex is proposed to be monomeric, while the other suggests a dimeric sRNP. The position of the RNA in the RNP is significantly different in each model. We have used UV-cross-linking to characterize protein-RNA contacts in the in vitro assembled Pyrococcus furiosus box C/D sRNP. The P. furiosus sRNP components assemble into complexes that are the expected size of di-sRNPs. Analysis of UV-induced protein-RNA cross-links revealed a novel interaction between the ALFR motif, in the Nop domain of Nop5, and the guide/spacer regions of the sRNA. We show that the ALFR motif and the spacer sequence adjacent to box C or C' are important for box C/D sRNP assembly in vitro. These data therefore reveal new RNA-protein contacts in the box C/D sRNP and suggest a role for Nop5 in substrate binding and/or release.
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Affiliation(s)
- Homa Ghalei
- Abteilung Zelluläre Biochemie, Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, D-37077 Goettingen, Germany
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38
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Abstract
The use of free energy-based algorithms to compute RNA secondary structures produces, in general, large numbers of foldings. Recent research has addressed the problem of grouping structures into a small number of clusters and computing a representative folding for each cluster. At the heart of this problem is the need to compute a quantity that measures the difference between pairs of foldings. We introduce a new concept, the relaxed base-pair (RBP) score, designed to give a more biologically realistic measure of the difference between structures than the base-pair (BP) metric, which simply counts the number of base pairs in one structure but not the other. The degree of relaxation is determined by a single relaxation parameter, t. When t = 0, (no relaxation) our method is the same as the BP metric. At the other extreme, a very large value of t will give a distance of 0 for identical structures and 1 for structures that differ. Scores can be recomputed with different values of t, at virtually no extra computation cost, to yield satisfactory results. Our results indicate that relaxed measures give more stable and more meaningful clusters than the BP metric. We also use the RBP score to compute representative foldings for each cluster.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phaedra Agius
- Computational Biology Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065, USA
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39
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Gagnon KT, Zhang X, Qu G, Biswas S, Suryadi J, Brown BA, Maxwell ES. Signature amino acids enable the archaeal L7Ae box C/D RNP core protein to recognize and bind the K-loop RNA motif. RNA 2010; 16:79-90. [PMID: 19926724 PMCID: PMC2802039 DOI: 10.1261/rna.1692310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2009] [Accepted: 09/29/2009] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The archaeal L7Ae and eukaryotic 15.5kD protein homologs are members of the L7Ae/15.5kD protein family that characteristically recognize K-turn motifs found in both archaeal and eukaryotic RNAs. In Archaea, the L7Ae protein uniquely binds the K-loop motif found in box C/D and H/ACA sRNAs, whereas the eukaryotic 15.5kD homolog is unable to recognize this variant K-turn RNA. Comparative sequence and structural analyses, coupled with amino acid replacement experiments, have demonstrated that five amino acids enable the archaeal L7Ae core protein to recognize and bind the K-loop motif. These signature residues are highly conserved in the archaeal L7Ae and eukaryotic 15.5kD homologs, but differ between the two domains of life. Interestingly, loss of K-loop binding by archaeal L7Ae does not disrupt C'/D' RNP formation or RNA-guided nucleotide modification. L7Ae is still incorporated into the C'/D' RNP despite its inability to bind the K-loop, thus indicating the importance of protein-protein interactions for RNP assembly and function. Finally, these five signature amino acids are distinct for each of the L7Ae/L30 family members, suggesting an evolutionary continuum of these RNA-binding proteins for recognition of the various K-turn motifs contained in their cognate RNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith T Gagnon
- Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
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40
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Hasenöhrl D, Fabbretti A, Londei P, Gualerzi CO, Bläsi U. Translation initiation complex formation in the crenarchaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus. RNA 2009; 15:2288-2298. [PMID: 19861425 PMCID: PMC2779686 DOI: 10.1261/rna.1662609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2009] [Accepted: 09/09/2009] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The function of initiation factors in and the sequence of events during translation initiation have been intensively studied in Bacteria and Eukaryotes, whereas in Archaea knowledge on these functions/processes is limited. By employing chemical probing, we show that translation initiation factor aIF1 of the model crenarchaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus binds to the same area on the ribosome as the bacterial and eukaryal orthologs. Fluorescence energy transfer assays (FRET) showed that aIF1, like its eukaryotic and bacterial orthologs, has a fidelity function in translation initiation complex formation, and that both aIF1 and aIF1A exert a synergistic effect in stimulating ribosomal association of the Met-tRNAi(Met) binding factor a/eIF2. However, as in Eukaryotes their effect on a/eIF2 binding appears to be indirect. Moreover, FRET was used to analyze for the first time the sequence of events toward translation initiation complex formation in an archaeal model system. These studies suggested that a/eIF2-GTP binds first to the ribosome and then recruits Met-tRNAi(Met), which appears to comply with the operational mode of bacterial IF2, and deviates from the shuttle function of the eukaryotic counterpart eIF2. Thus, despite the resemblance of eIF2 and a/eIF2, recruitment of initiator tRNA to the ribosome is mechanistically different in Pro- and Eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Hasenöhrl
- Max F. Perutz Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunobiology and Genetics, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria.
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41
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Hale CR, Zhao P, Olson S, Duff MO, Graveley BR, Wells L, Terns RM, Terns MP. RNA-guided RNA cleavage by a CRISPR RNA-Cas protein complex. Cell 2009; 139:945-56. [PMID: 19945378 PMCID: PMC2951265 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2009.07.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 763] [Impact Index Per Article: 50.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2008] [Revised: 04/13/2009] [Accepted: 07/17/2009] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Compelling evidence indicates that the CRISPR-Cas system protects prokaryotes from viruses and other potential genome invaders. This adaptive prokaryotic immune system arises from the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) found in prokaryotic genomes, which harbor short invader-derived sequences, and the CRISPR-associated (Cas) protein-coding genes. Here, we have identified a CRISPR-Cas effector complex that is comprised of small invader-targeting RNAs from the CRISPR loci (termed prokaryotic silencing (psi)RNAs) and the RAMP module (or Cmr) Cas proteins. The psiRNA-Cmr protein complexes cleave complementary target RNAs at a fixed distance from the 3' end of the integral psiRNAs. In Pyrococcus furiosus, psiRNAs occur in two size forms that share a common 5' sequence tag but have distinct 3' ends that direct cleavage of a given target RNA at two distinct sites. Our results indicate that prokaryotes possess a unique RNA silencing system that functions by homology-dependent cleavage of invader RNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caryn R. Hale
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Peng Zhao
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Sara Olson
- Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, University of Connecticut Stem Cell Institute, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 armington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030-3301, USA
| | - Michael O. Duff
- Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, University of Connecticut Stem Cell Institute, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 armington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030-3301, USA
| | - Brenton R. Graveley
- Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, University of Connecticut Stem Cell Institute, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 armington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030-3301, USA
| | - Lance Wells
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Rebecca M. Terns
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Michael P. Terns
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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42
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Abstract
Messenger RNA (mRNA) processing plays important roles in gene expression in all domains of life. A number of cases of mRNA cleavage have been documented in Archaea, but available data are fragmentary. We have examined RNAs present in Methanocaldococcus (Methanococcus) jannaschii for evidence of RNA processing upstream of protein-coding genes. Of 123 regions covered by the data, 31 were found to be processed, with 30 including a cleavage site 12-16 nucleotides upstream of the corresponding translation start site. Analyses with 3'-RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) and 5'-RACE indicate that the processing is endonucleolytic. Analyses of the sequences surrounding the processing sites for functional sites, sequence motifs, or potential RNA secondary structure elements did not reveal any recurring features except for an AUG translation start codon and (in most cases) a ribosome binding site. These properties differ from those of all previously described mRNA processing systems. Our data suggest that the processing alters the representation of various genes in the RNA pool and therefore, may play a significant role in defining the balance of proteins in the cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Zhang
- Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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43
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Abstract
All canonical transfer RNAs (tRNAs) have a uridine at position 8, involved in maintaining tRNA tertiary structure. However, the hyperthermophilic archaeon Methanopyrus kandleri harbors 30 (out of 34) tRNA genes with cytidine at position 8. Here, we demonstrate C-to-U editing at this location in the tRNA's tertiary core, and present the crystal structure of a tRNA-specific cytidine deaminase, CDAT8, which has the cytidine deaminase domain linked to a tRNA-binding THUMP domain. CDAT8 is specific for C deamination at position 8, requires only the acceptor stem hairpin for activity, and belongs to a unique family within the "cytidine deaminase-like" superfamily. The presence of this C-to-U editing enzyme guarantees the proper folding and functionality of all M. kandleri tRNAs.
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MESH Headings
- Amino Acid Motifs
- Catalytic Domain
- Crystallography, X-Ray
- Cytidine Deaminase/chemistry
- Cytidine Deaminase/metabolism
- Deamination
- Euryarchaeota/enzymology
- Euryarchaeota/genetics
- Euryarchaeota/metabolism
- Genes, Archaeal
- Models, Chemical
- Models, Molecular
- Nucleic Acid Conformation
- Protein Multimerization
- Protein Structure, Tertiary
- RNA Editing
- RNA, Archaeal/chemistry
- RNA, Archaeal/genetics
- RNA, Archaeal/metabolism
- RNA, Transfer/chemistry
- RNA, Transfer/genetics
- RNA, Transfer/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- Lennart Randau
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Bradford J. Stanley
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Andrew Kohlway
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Sarah Mechta
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Yong Xiong
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Dieter Söll
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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44
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Muller S, Urban A, Hecker A, Leclerc F, Branlant C, Motorin Y. Deficiency of the tRNATyr:Psi 35-synthase aPus7 in Archaea of the Sulfolobales order might be rescued by the H/ACA sRNA-guided machinery. Nucleic Acids Res 2009; 37:1308-22. [PMID: 19139072 PMCID: PMC2651775 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkn1037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2008] [Revised: 12/11/2008] [Accepted: 12/12/2008] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Up to now, Psi formation in tRNAs was found to be catalysed by stand-alone enzymes. By computational analysis of archaeal genomes we detected putative H/ACA sRNAs, in four Sulfolobales species and in Aeropyrum pernix, that might guide Psi 35 formation in pre-tRNA(Tyr)(GUA). This modification is achieved by Pus7p in eukarya. The validity of the computational predictions was verified by in vitro reconstitution of H/ACA sRNPs using the identified Sulfolobus solfataricus H/ACA sRNA. Comparison of Pus7-like enzymes encoded by archaeal genomes revealed amino acid substitutions in motifs IIIa and II in Sulfolobales and A. pernix Pus7-like enzymes. These conserved RNA:Psi-synthase- motifs are essential for catalysis. As expected, the recombinant Pyrococcus abyssi aPus7 was fully active and acted at positions 35 and 13 and other positions in tRNAs, while the recombinant S. solfataricus aPus7 was only found to have a poor activity at position 13. We showed that the presence of an A residue 3' to the target U residue is required for P. abyssi aPus7 activity, and that this is not the case for the reconstituted S. solfataricus H/ACA sRNP. In agreement with the possible formation of Psi 35 in tRNA(Tyr)(GUA) by aPus7 in P. abyssi and by an H/ACA sRNP in S. solfataricus, the A36G mutation in the P. abyssi tRNA(Tyr)(GUA) abolished Psi 35 formation when using P. abyssi extract, whereas the A36G substitution in the S. solfataricus pre-tRNA(Tyr) did not affect Psi 35 formation in this RNA when using an S. solfataricus extract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sébastien Muller
- Laboratoire de Maturation des ARN et Enzymologie Moléculaire, UMR 7567 CNRS-UHP Nancy Université, BP 239, 54506 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy Cedex and Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie, Université Paris-Sud, IFR115, UMR8621-CNRS, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Alan Urban
- Laboratoire de Maturation des ARN et Enzymologie Moléculaire, UMR 7567 CNRS-UHP Nancy Université, BP 239, 54506 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy Cedex and Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie, Université Paris-Sud, IFR115, UMR8621-CNRS, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Arnaud Hecker
- Laboratoire de Maturation des ARN et Enzymologie Moléculaire, UMR 7567 CNRS-UHP Nancy Université, BP 239, 54506 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy Cedex and Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie, Université Paris-Sud, IFR115, UMR8621-CNRS, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Fabrice Leclerc
- Laboratoire de Maturation des ARN et Enzymologie Moléculaire, UMR 7567 CNRS-UHP Nancy Université, BP 239, 54506 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy Cedex and Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie, Université Paris-Sud, IFR115, UMR8621-CNRS, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Christiane Branlant
- Laboratoire de Maturation des ARN et Enzymologie Moléculaire, UMR 7567 CNRS-UHP Nancy Université, BP 239, 54506 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy Cedex and Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie, Université Paris-Sud, IFR115, UMR8621-CNRS, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Yuri Motorin
- Laboratoire de Maturation des ARN et Enzymologie Moléculaire, UMR 7567 CNRS-UHP Nancy Université, BP 239, 54506 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy Cedex and Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie, Université Paris-Sud, IFR115, UMR8621-CNRS, 91405 Orsay, France
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45
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Cole JR, Wang Q, Cardenas E, Fish J, Chai B, Farris RJ, Kulam-Syed-Mohideen AS, McGarrell DM, Marsh T, Garrity GM, Tiedje JM. The Ribosomal Database Project: improved alignments and new tools for rRNA analysis. Nucleic Acids Res 2009; 37:D141-5. [PMID: 19004872 PMCID: PMC2686447 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkn879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3406] [Impact Index Per Article: 227.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2008] [Revised: 10/16/2008] [Accepted: 10/17/2008] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The Ribosomal Database Project (RDP) provides researchers with quality-controlled bacterial and archaeal small subunit rRNA alignments and analysis tools. An improved alignment strategy uses the Infernal secondary structure aware aligner to provide a more consistent higher quality alignment and faster processing of user sequences. Substantial new analysis features include a new Pyrosequencing Pipeline that provides tools to support analysis of ultra high-throughput rRNA sequencing data. This pipeline offers a collection of tools that automate the data processing and simplify the computationally intensive analysis of large sequencing libraries. In addition, a new Taxomatic visualization tool allows rapid visualization of taxonomic inconsistencies and suggests corrections, and a new class Assignment Generator provides instructors with a lesson plan and individualized teaching materials. Details about RDP data and analytical functions can be found at http://rdp.cme.msu.edu/.
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Affiliation(s)
- J R Cole
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
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Djelloul M, Denise A. Automated motif extraction and classification in RNA tertiary structures. RNA 2008; 14:2489-2497. [PMID: 18957493 PMCID: PMC2590963 DOI: 10.1261/rna.1061108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2008] [Accepted: 08/15/2008] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
We used a novel graph-based approach to extract RNA tertiary motifs. We cataloged them all and clustered them using an innovative graph similarity measure. We applied our method to three widely studied structures: Haloarcula marismortui 50S (H.m 50S), Escherichia coli 50S (E. coli 50S), and Thermus thermophilus 16S (T.th 16S) RNAs. We identified 10 known motifs without any prior knowledge of their shapes or positions. We additionally identified four putative new motifs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahassine Djelloul
- Laboratoire de Recherche en Informatique, Université Paris-Sud 11 and CNRS, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France
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47
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Singh SK, Gurha P, Gupta R. Dynamic guide-target interactions contribute to sequential 2'-O-methylation by a unique archaeal dual guide box C/D sRNP. RNA 2008; 14:1411-23. [PMID: 18515549 PMCID: PMC2441990 DOI: 10.1261/rna.1003308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2008] [Accepted: 04/16/2008] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Assembly and guide-target interaction of an archaeal box C/D-guide sRNP was investigated under various conditions by analyzing the lead (II)-induced cleavage of the guide RNA. Guide and target RNAs derived from Haloferax volcanii pre-tRNA(Trp) were used with recombinant Methanocaldococcus jannaschii core proteins in the reactions. Core protein L7Ae binds differentially to C/D and C'/D' motifs of the guide RNA, and interchanging the two motifs relative to the termini of the guide RNA did not affect L7Ae binding or sRNA function. L7Ae binding to the guide RNA exposes its D'-guide sequence first followed by the D guide. These exposures are reduced when aNop5p and aFib proteins are added. The exposed guide sequences did not pair with the target sequences in the presence of L7Ae alone. The D-guide sequence could pair with the target in the presence of L7Ae and aNop5p, suggesting a role of aNop5p in target recruitment and rearrangement of sRNA structure. aFib binding further stabilizes this pairing. After box C/D-guided modification, target-guide pairing at the D-guide sequence is disrupted, suggesting that each round of methylation may require some conformational change or reassembly of the RNP. Asymmetric RNPs containing only one L7Ae at either of the two box motifs can be assembled, but a functional RNP requires L7Ae at the box C/D motif. This arrangement resembles the asymmetric eukaryal snoRNP. Observations of initial D-guide-target pairing and the functional requirement for L7Ae at the box C/D motif are consistent with our previous report of the sequential 2'-O-methylations of the target RNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjay K Singh
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901-4413, USA
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48
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Hölzle A, Fischer S, Heyer R, Schütz S, Zacharias M, Walther P, Allers T, Marchfelder A. Maturation of the 5S rRNA 5' end is catalyzed in vitro by the endonuclease tRNase Z in the archaeon H. volcanii. RNA 2008; 14:928-37. [PMID: 18369184 PMCID: PMC2327364 DOI: 10.1261/rna.933208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Ribosomal RNA molecules are synthesized as precursors that have to undergo several processing steps to generate the functional rRNA. The 5S rRNA in the archaeon Haloferax volcanii is transcribed as part of a multicistronic transcript containing both large rRNAs and one or two tRNAs. Release of the 5S rRNA from the precursor requires two endonucleolytic cleavages by enzymes as yet not identified. Here we report the first identification of an archaeal 5S rRNA processing endonuclease. The enzyme tRNase Z, which was initially identified as tRNA processing enzyme, generates not only tRNA 3' ends but also mature 5S rRNA 5' ends in vitro. Interestingly, the sequence upstream of the 5S rRNA can be folded into a mini-tRNA, which might explain the processing of this RNA by tRNase Z. The endonuclease is active only at low salt concentrations in vitro, which is in contrast to the 2-4 M KCl concentration present inside the cell in vivo. Electron microscopy studies show that there are no compartments inside the Haloferax cell that could provide lower salt environments. Processing of the 5S rRNA 5' end is not restricted to the haloarchaeal tRNase Z since tRNase Z enzymes from a thermophilic archaeon, a lower and a higher eukaryote, are as well able to cleave the tRNA-like structure 5' of the 5S rRNA. Knock out of the tRNase Z gene in Haloferax volcanii is lethal, showing that the protein is essential for the cell.
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MESH Headings
- Base Sequence
- Endoribonucleases/genetics
- Endoribonucleases/metabolism
- Genes, Archaeal
- Haloferax volcanii/genetics
- Haloferax volcanii/metabolism
- Haloferax volcanii/ultrastructure
- Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
- Models, Molecular
- Nucleic Acid Conformation
- RNA Precursors/genetics
- RNA Precursors/metabolism
- RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional
- RNA, Archaeal/chemistry
- RNA, Archaeal/genetics
- RNA, Archaeal/metabolism
- RNA, Ribosomal, 5S/genetics
- RNA, Ribosomal, 5S/metabolism
- RNA, Transfer/chemistry
- RNA, Transfer/genetics
- RNA, Transfer/metabolism
- Recombinant Proteins/genetics
- Recombinant Proteins/metabolism
- Substrate Specificity
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49
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Sun FJ, Caetano-Anollés G. Evolutionary patterns in the sequence and structure of transfer RNA: early origins of archaea and viruses. PLoS Comput Biol 2008; 4:e1000018. [PMID: 18369418 PMCID: PMC2265525 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2007] [Accepted: 02/01/2008] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are ancient molecules that are central to translation. Since they probably carry evolutionary signatures that were left behind when the living world diversified, we reconstructed phylogenies directly from the sequence and structure of tRNA using well-established phylogenetic methods. The trees placed tRNAs with long variable arms charging Sec, Tyr, Ser, and Leu consistently at the base of the rooted phylogenies, but failed to reveal groupings that would indicate clear evolutionary links to organismal origin or molecular functions. In order to uncover evolutionary patterns in the trees, we forced tRNAs into monophyletic groups using constraint analyses to generate timelines of organismal diversification and test competing evolutionary hypotheses. Remarkably, organismal timelines showed Archaea was the most ancestral superkingdom, followed by viruses, then superkingdoms Eukarya and Bacteria, in that order, supporting conclusions from recent phylogenomic studies of protein architecture. Strikingly, constraint analyses showed that the origin of viruses was not only ancient, but was linked to Archaea. Our findings have important implications. They support the notion that the archaeal lineage was very ancient, resulted in the first organismal divide, and predated diversification of tRNA function and specificity. Results are also consistent with the concept that viruses contributed to the development of the DNA replication machinery during the early diversification of the living world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng-Jie Sun
- Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Gustavo Caetano-Anollés
- Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
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50
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Nielsen JS, Bøggild A, Andersen CBF, Nielsen G, Boysen A, Brodersen DE, Valentin-Hansen P. An Hfq-like protein in archaea: crystal structure and functional characterization of the Sm protein from Methanococcus jannaschii. RNA 2007; 13:2213-2223. [PMID: 17959927 PMCID: PMC2080587 DOI: 10.1261/rna.689007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2007] [Accepted: 09/11/2007] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The Sm and Sm-like proteins are conserved in all three domains of life and have emerged as important players in many different RNA-processing reactions. Their proposed role is to mediate RNA-RNA and/or RNA-protein interactions. In marked contrast to eukaryotes, bacteria appear to contain only one distinct Sm-like protein belonging to the Hfq family of proteins. Similarly, there are generally only one or two subtypes of Sm-related proteins in archaea, but at least one archaeon, Methanococcus jannaschii, encodes a protein that is related to Hfq. This archaeon does not contain any gene encoding a conventional archaeal Sm-type protein, suggesting that Hfq proteins and archaeal Sm-homologs can complement each other functionally. Here, we report the functional characterization of M. jannaschii Hfq and its crystal structure at 2.5 A resolution. The protein forms a hexameric ring. The monomer fold, as well as the overall structure of the complex is similar to that found for the bacterial Hfq proteins. However, clear differences are seen in the charge distribution on the distal face of the ring, which is unusually negative in M. jannaschii Hfq. Moreover, owing to a very short N-terminal alpha-helix, the overall diameter of the archaeal Hfq hexamer is significantly smaller than its bacterial counterparts. Functional analysis reveals that Escherichia coli and M. jannaschii Hfqs display very similar biochemical and biological properties. It thus appears that the archaeal and bacterial Hfq proteins are largely functionally interchangeable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesper S Nielsen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark
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