Structure of RNA in ribosomes

The 50S and 30S ribosomes and 23S and 16S RNA were hydrolyzed with ribonuclease A. The rate constants and number of fragments produced were determined for each reaction. The conformation of 23S RNA changes when the RNA is extracted from the ribosome. Specific regions of the RNA in 50S and 30S ribosomes are protected from hydrolysis by the ribosomal proteins.     

Specific interactions in RNA enzyme-substrate complexes

Analysis of crosslinked complexes of M1 RNA, the catalytic RNA subunit of ribonuclease P from Escherichia coli, and transfer RNA precursor substrates has led to the identification of regions in the enzyme and in the substrate that are in close physical proximity to each other. The nucleotide in M1 RNA, residue C92, which participates in a crosslink with the substrate was deleted and the resulting mutant M1 RNA was shown to cleave substrates lacking the 3' terminal CCAUCA sequence at sites several nucleotides away from the normal site of cleavage. The presence or absence of the 3' terminal CCAUCA sequence in transfer RNA precursor substrates markedly affects the way in which these substrates interact with the catalytic RNA in the enzyme-substrate complex. The contacts between wild-type M1 RNA and its substrate are in a region that resembles part of the transfer RNA "E" (exit) site in 23S ribosomal RNA. These data demonstrate that in RNA's with very different cellular functions, there are domains with similar structural and functional properties and that there is a nucleotide in M1 RNA that affects the site of cleavage by the enzyme.     

Crystal structure of the ribosome at 5.5 A resolution

We describe the crystal structure of the complete Thermus thermophilus 70S ribosome containing bound messenger RNA and transfer RNAs (tRNAs) at 5.5 angstrom resolution. All of the 16S, 23S, and 5S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) chains, the A-, P-, and E-site tRNAs, and most of the ribosomal proteins can be fitted to the electron density map. The core of the interface between the 30S small subunit and the 50S large subunit, where the tRNA substrates are bound, is dominated by RNA, with proteins located mainly at the periphery, consistent with ribosomal function being based on rRNA. In each of the three tRNA binding sites, the ribosome contacts all of the major elements of tRNA, providing an explanation for the conservation of tRNA structure. The tRNAs are closely juxtaposed with the intersubunit bridges, in a way that suggests coupling of the 20 to 50 angstrom movements associated with tRNA translocation with intersubunit movement.     

Oligomerization of intervening sequence RNA molecules in the absence of proteins

The intervening sequence RNA excised from the ribosomal RNA precursor of Tetrahymena forms linear and circular oligomers when exposed to a heating-cooling treatment in vitro. The reactions require no protein or external energy source. Oligomerization is different from other self-catalyzed reactions of the intervening sequence RNA in that it involves intermolecular rather than intramolecular recombination, producing RNA molecules that are substantially larger than the original. The observation that RNA molecules can catalyze their own oligomerization has possible implications for the evolution of chromosomes and for the replicative cycle of plant viroids and virus-associated RNA's.     

Small nuclear RNA U2 is base-paired to heterogeneous nuclear RNA

Eukaryotic cells contain a set of low molecular weight nuclear RNA's. One of the more abundant of these is termed U2 RNA. The possibility that U2 RNA is hydrogen-bonded to complementary sequences in other nuclear RNA's was investigated. Cultured human (HeLa) cells were treated with a psoralen derivative that cross-links RNA chains that are base-paired with one another. High molecular weight heterogeneous nuclear RNA was isolated under denaturing conditions, and the psoralen cross-links were reversed. Electrophoresis of the released RNA and hybridization with a human cloned U2 DNA probe revealed that U2 is hydrogen-bonded to complementary sequences in heterogeneous nuclear RNA in vivo. In contrast, U2 RNA is not base-paired with nucleolar RNA, which contains the precursors of ribosomal RNA. The results suggest that U2 RNA participates in messenger RNA processing in the nucleus.     

RNA-protein interactions in 30S ribosomal subunits: folding and function of 16S rRNA

Chemical probing methods have been used to "footprint" 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) at each step during the in vitro assembly of twenty 30S subunit ribosomal proteins. These experiments yield information about the location of each protein relative to the structure of 16S rRNA and provide the basis for derivation of a detailed model for the three-dimensional folding of 16S rRNA. Several lines of evidence suggest that protein-dependent conformational changes in 16S rRNA play an important part in the cooperativity of ribosome assembly and in fine-tuning of the conformation and dynamics of 16S rRNA in the 30S subunit.     

Heterogeneity of 5S RNA in fungal ribosomes

Neurospora crassa has at least seven types of 5S RNA genes (alpha, beta, gamma, epsilon, delta, zeta, and eta) with different coding regions. A high resolution gel electrophoresis system was developed to separate minor 5S RNA's from the major 5S RNA (alpha). A study of several Neurospora crassa strains, four other species in the genus Neurospora, members of two closely related genera, and three distantly related genera demonstrated that 5S RNA heterogeneity is common among fungi. In addition, different 5S RNA's are present in Neurospora ribosomes. The finding that fungal ribosomes are structurally heterogeneous suggests that ribosomes may be functionally heterogeneous as well.     

Regulation of bacterial growth

Is the control of bacterial metabolism so complex? The answer can be found in a simple experiment. Two cultures of bacteria are grown in different mediums. One contains as the carbon and nitrogen sources a mixture of amino acids, while the other contains only glucose and ammonia, so that the cells must synthesize all of the amino acids. The results show that insofar as the cells in both cultures grow at comparable rates, they will have the same composition in terms of DNA, RNA, and protein (30). To explain this phenomena I have argued that through the control mechanisms responsible for the distribution of substrates in intermediary metabolism, the substrates of protein synthesis are produced at concentrations and rates commensurate with the ability of the environment to support growth. The provision of these substrates relative to the ability of the protein forming system to utilize them regulates the synthesis of ribosomal and transfer RNA, which, after adjustment for various modulating influences, such as nonfunctioning ribosomes or ribosomal RNA turnover, brings the number of functioning ribosomes to a point in keeping with the provision of external nutrients. The synthesis of messenger (or total) RNA, ribosomal proteins, and DNA, and the process of cell division, for example, are subject to their own controls, but through the burden they each place on intermediary metabolism, they provide a means for partitioning the cell's metabolic resources. It might be noted that this view may not be very far from the idea once held that the rate at which each of the transfer RNA's was changed by amino acids regulate the synthesis of bacterial RNA, but growth regulation is clearly more complicated than implied by that model (76).     

Sulfur: incorporation into the transfer fraction of soluble ribonucleic acid

When S(35)-labeled soluble RNA from Escherichia coli K 38 is subjected to gel filtration, four fractions of RNA are obtained by elution. Only one RNA fraction, the transfer RNA, contains sulfur, presumably as thionucleotides. Treatment with ribonuclease suggests that the incorporated sulfur is an integral part of the polynucleotide chain; digestion with alkali yields a mixture of products containing sulfur, the major one being eluted in a position similar to uridine diphosphate upon Dowex-l chromatography. Analysis by countercurrent distribution of S(35)-labeledtransfer RNA from E. coli B reveals that the incorporated sulfur is found in many RNA's that accept amino acids, but the possibility remains that not all acceptor RNA's contain sulfur.     

Polypeptide synthesis in sea urchin embryogenesis: an examination with synthetic polyribonucleotides

After fertilization of the sea urchin egg the rate of protein synthesis by a cell-free ribosomal system increases markedly. This increase can be attributed to newly synthesized messenger RNA, since (i) the rate of polypeptide synthesis elicited by synthetic messenger polyribonucleotides changes only slightly after fertilization, and (ii) the enzymes for the formation of amino acyl transfer RNA's of phenylalanine and leucine and the polymerization of polypeptide are in excess in the unfertilized egg. Polypeptide synthesis has been characterized in development to the gastrula stage.     

Cytokinin from soluble RNA of Escherichia coli: 6-(3-methyl-2-butenylamino)-2-methylthio-9-beta-D-ribofuranosylpurine

We have isolated a compound responsible for the cytokinin activity of soluble RNA from Escherichia coli. The structure, indicated as 6-(3-methyl-2-butenylamino)-2-methylthio-9-beta-D-ribofuranosylpurine, C(16)H(23)N(5)0(4)S, on the basis of low-and high-reso!ution mass spectrometry, was established by unequivocal synthesis. The mass spectra, chromatographic behavior, and ultraviolet spectra of the compounds from natural and synthetic sources were identical.     

Crystal structure of an initiation factor bound to the 30S ribosomal subunit

Initiation of translation at the correct position on messenger RNA is essential for accurate protein synthesis. In prokaryotes, this process requires three initiation factors: IF1, IF2, and IF3. Here we report the crystal structure of a complex of IF1 and the 30S ribosomal subunit. Binding of IF1 occludes the ribosomal A site and flips out the functionally important bases A1492 and A1493 from helix 44 of 16S RNA, burying them in pockets in IF1. The binding of IF1 causes long-range changes in the conformation of H44 and leads to movement of the domains of 30S with respect to each other. The structure explains how localized changes at the ribosomal A site lead to global alterations in the conformation of the 30S subunit.     

RIBOSOMAL RNA IN THE DEVELOPING CHICK EMBRYO

Developing chick embryos from the stage of primitive-streak formation make ribosomal (28S and 16S) RNA. The size and composition of the RNA appears to be constant throughout the first 7 days of development.     

Distribution of protein and RNA in the 30S ribosomal subunit

In Escherichia coli, the small ribosomal subunit has a sedimentation coefficient of 30S, and consists of a 16S RNA molecule of 1541 nucleotides complexed with 21 proteins. Over the last few years, a controversy has emerged regarding the spatial distribution of RNA and protein in the 30S subunit. Contrast variation with neutron scattering was used to suggest that the RNA was located in a central core of the subunit and the proteins mainly in the periphery, with virtually no separation between the centers of mass of protein and RNA. However, these findings are incompatible with the results of efforts to locate individual ribosomal proteins by immune electron microscopy and triangulation with interprotein distance measurements. The conflict between these two views is resolved in this report of small-angle neutron scattering measurements on 30S subunits with and without protein S1, and on subunits reconstituted from deuterated 16S RNA and unlabeled proteins. The results show that (i) the proteins and RNA are intermingled, with neither component dominating at the core or the periphery, and (ii) the spatial distribution of protein and RNA is asymmetrical, with a separation between their centers of mass of about 25 angstroms.     

Differential control of U1 small nuclear RNA expression during mouse development

During normal mouse development the relative amounts of two types of U1 small nuclear RNA's (U1 RNA) change significantly. Fetal tissues have comparable levels of the two major types of mouse U1 RNA's, mU1a and mU1b, whereas most differentiated adult tissues contain only mU1a RNA's. Those adult tissues that also accumulate detectable amounts of embryonic (mU1b) RNA's (for example, testis, spleen, and thymus) contain a significant proportion of stem cells capable of further differentiation. Several strains of mice express minor sequence variants of U1 RNA's that are subject to the same developmental controls as the major types of adult and embryonic U1 RNA. The differential accumulation of embryonic U1 RNA's may influence the pattern of gene expression during early development and differentiation.     

柑橘黄龙病病原菌非洲种和美洲种23S-5S rDNA序列的克隆及分析

 【目的】克隆柑橘黄龙病病原菌非洲种和美洲种23S-5S rDNA序列并和亚洲种相应区域进行比对,阐明黄龙病3个种核糖体RNA操纵子之间的关系。【方法】根据亚洲种23S-5S rRNA基因区域序列的保守性设计引物,在非洲种和美洲种DNA样品上扩增,对PCR产物进行克隆和测序,并对新获得的序列进行序列验证和分析。【结果】 非洲种获得了3 057 bp 序列包括23S rRNA 基因、细胞壁脱氢酶假基因和5S rRNA 基因;美洲种获得了3 033 bp序列包括23S rRNA 基因、glpK基因和5S rRNA 基因。3个种核糖体基因顺序分别是：亚洲种16S rRNA、tRNAIle、tRNAAla、23S rRNA、细胞壁脱氢酶假基因、5S rRNA 和 tRNAMet;非洲种16S rRNA、tRNAIle、tRNAAla、23S rRNA、细胞壁脱氢酶假基因和 5S rRNA;美洲种16S rRNA、tRNAIle、tRNAAla、23S rRNA、glpK 基因和5S rRNA。【结论】黄龙病病原菌核糖体RNA基因有特殊的排列方式,即在23S rRNA和5S rRNA基因区间均有反向编码的细胞壁脱氢酶基因,其中亚洲种和非洲种为假基因,美洲种为glpK基因。     

罗氏沼虾不同群体线粒体16SrRNA基因的序列变异及其保守性分析

利用PCR技术扩增获得罗氏沼虾广西养殖群体、江苏养殖群体和缅甸原种F13个不同群体共15个个体的线粒体16SrRNA基因片段,测定序列并进行序列同源性比较。结果显示,在得到的401bp长度的基因片段中,3个群体所有个体的核苷酸序列完全一致,序列同源性为100%,该基因在群体内或不同群体间均不存在遗传差异。表明罗氏沼虾的16SrRNA基因是比较保守的序列,在不同群体间的分化程度很低。     

Streptomycin resistance mutation in Escherichia coli: altered ribosomal protein

Reconstitution of 30S ribosomal particles was performed with 16S ribosomal RNA, "core" proteins, and "split" proteins from 30S particles derived from streptomycin-sensitive and streptomycin-resistant Escherichia coli cells in various combinations. Analysis of streptomycin sensitivity of the reconstituted particles has shown that the alteration induced by the resistance mutation resides in the core proteins, and not in the RNA or in the split proteins of the 30S particles.