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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Nick Watkins
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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.
Author(s): Ghalei H, Hsiao HH, Urlaub H, Wahl MC, Watkins NJ
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: The RNA Journal
Year: 2010
Volume: 16
Issue: 12
Pages: 2341-2348
Print publication date: 01/12/2010
ISSN (print): 1355-8382
ISSN (electronic): 1469-9001
Publisher: The RNA Society
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1261/rna.2380410
DOI: 10.1261/rna.2380410
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