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Slow formation of stable complexes during coincubation of minimal rRNA and ribosomal protein S4.

ABSTRACT: Ribosomal protein S4 binds and stabilizes a five-helix junction or five-way junction (5WJ) in the 5' domain of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and is one of two proteins responsible for nucleating 30S ribosome assembly. Upon binding, both protein S4 and 5WJ reorganize their structures. We show that labile S4 complexes rearrange into stable complexes within a few minutes at 42 °C, with longer coincubation leading to an increased population of stable complexes. In contrast, prefolding the rRNA has a smaller effect on stable S4 binding. Experiments with minimal rRNA fragments show that this structural change depends only on 16S residues within the S4 binding site. SHAPE (selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension) chemical probing experiments showed that S4 strongly stabilizes 5WJ and the helix (H) 18 pseudoknot, which become tightly folded within the first minute of S4 binding. However, a kink in H16 that makes specific contacts with the S4 N-terminal extension, as well as a right-angle motif between H3, H4, and H18, requires a minute or more to become fully structured. Surprisingly, S4 structurally reorganizes the 530-loop and increases the flexibility of H3, which is proposed to undergo a conformational switch during 30S assembly. These elements of the S4 binding site may require other 30S proteins to reach a stable conformation.

SUBMITTER: Mayerle M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3167742 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Slow formation of stable complexes during coincubation of minimal rRNA and ribosomal protein S4.

Mayerle Megan M Bellur Deepti L DL Woodson Sarah A SA

Journal of molecular biology 20110729 3

Ribosomal protein S4 binds and stabilizes a five-helix junction or five-way junction (5WJ) in the 5' domain of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and is one of two proteins responsible for nucleating 30S ribosome assembly. Upon binding, both protein S4 and 5WJ reorganize their structures. We show that labile S4 complexes rearrange into stable complexes within a few minutes at 42 °C, with longer coincubation leading to an increased population of stable complexes. In contrast, prefolding the rRNA has a smal ...[more]

PMID: 21821049

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Project description:BackgroundThe universal ribosomal protein S4 is essential for the initiation of small subunit ribosomal assembly and translational accuracy. Being part of the information processing machinery of the cell, the gene for S4 is generally thought of as being inherited vertically and has been used in concatenated gene phylogenies. Here we report the evolution of ribosomal protein S4 in relation to a broad sharing of zinc/non-zinc forms of the gene and study the scope of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of S4 during bacterial evolution.ResultsIn this study we present the complex evolutionary history of ribosomal protein S4 using 660 bacterial genomes from 16 major bacterial phyla. According to conserved characteristics in the sequences, S4 can be classified into C+ (zinc-binding) and C- (zinc-free) variants, with 26 genomes (mainly from the class Clostridia) containing genes for both. A maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of the S4 sequences was incongruent with the standard bacterial phylogeny, indicating a departure from strict vertical inheritance. Further analysis using the genome content near the S4 genes, which are usually located in a conserved gene cluster, showed not only that HGT of the C- gene had occurred at various stages of bacterial evolution, but also that both the C- and C+ genes were present before the individual phyla diverged. To explain the latter, we theorize that a gene pool existed early in bacterial evolution from which bacteria could sample S4 gene variants, according to environmental conditions. The distribution of the C+/- variants for seven other zinc-binding ribosomal proteins in these 660 bacterial genomes is consistent with that seen for S4 and may shed light on the evolutionary pressures involved.ConclusionThe complex history presented for "core" protein S4 suggests the existence of a gene pool before the emergence of bacterial lineages and reflects the pervasive nature of HGT in subsequent bacterial evolution. This has implications for both theoretical models of evolution and practical applications of phylogenetic reconstruction as well as the control of zinc economy in bacterial cells.

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Slow formation of stable complexes during coincubation of minimal rRNA and ribosomal protein S4.

Publications

Slow formation of stable complexes during coincubation of minimal rRNA and ribosomal protein S4.

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