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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 281, Issue 51, 38969-38973, December 22, 2006
Minireview Substrate Recognition by RNA 5-Methyluridine Methyltransferases and Pseudouridine Synthases: A Structural Perspective*From the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143
Through all kingdoms of life RNAs are modified as, or after, they are synthesized. The types and sites of modification are often conserved, implying conservation of function. Many of these modifications are located at key functional regions of the ribosome or other RNAs. The enzymes that carry out the modifications exhibit unique or limited multisite specificity. Substrate recognition by RNA-modifying enzymes is more challenging than for DNA-modifying enzymes, because the complex tertiary folds of RNA often prevent direct read out of the target sequence. In some cases, there is no consensus target sequence for the multiple substrates of an RNA-modifying enzyme beyond the target base itself. A challenge for biologists is to determine how an RNA-modifying enzyme selects the correct segment from a large folded or partially folded RNA and then recognizes a single target base in the segment without relying exclusively on sequence. Several crystal structures of RNA-modifying enzymes with and without substrate bound have recently been determined. These structures are beginning to "decode" the basis for selectivity of enzymes for the many different states and folds of RNA.
We focus on two of the classes of RNA-modifying enzymes for which mechanisms of substrate recognition are understood to some degree. These are the 5-methyluridine (m5U)2 methyltransferases (MTases) and the pseudouridine synthases (
The m5U MTases catalyze the Sn2 transfer of the methyl group from the cofactor, AdoMet, to the C-5 of the target uridine (1). The first m5U MTase to be studied in detail was TrmA (formerly called RUMT), which methylates U54 in the T-arm of most Escherichia coli tRNAs. An intriguing problem was how TrmA was able to recognize tRNAs with a different sequence and structure and catalyze the specific methylation at only U54. The minimal RNA structure for substrate activity contains the 7 bases of the T loop and a short base-paired stem of the T-arm (2). The composition of the base-paired stem is unimportant, and most base substitutions in the 7-base loop do not eliminate TrmA activity except for any mutation of the methyl acceptor U54 and the C56G mutation. Therefore the specificity of TrmA does not reside in the sequence but rather in secondary and tertiary structural features of the T-arm. How does the enzyme-AdoMet binary complex gain access to the base of U54, which is buried deep inside the folded structure of tRNA, to perform the complex steps of catalysis? Stable hydrogen bonds between the D and T loops must be disrupted in order for TrmA to access the T loop. The kinetics of formation of the TrmA-tRNA complex is consistent with a two-step binding mechanism: a rapid association of the enzyme with tRNA followed by a slow step in which the enzyme and tRNA tightly associate into stable complexes that can be isolated on nitrocellulose filters (1). The overall rate of complex formation is significantly faster for tRNAs in which T loop/D loop hydrogen bonds have been eliminated by mutagenesis, implying the slow step involves disruption of T loop/D loop interactions (1). If a substrate fragment is accessible but remains rigid as in the folded RNA structure, the target base may not be solvent-accessible. The crystal structure of the ribosomal m5U MTase RumA bound to RNA and S-adenosylhomocysteine illustrates in detail the importance of conformational adaptability of an RNA substrate for recognition by the modification enzyme (3, 4). RumA methylates U1939 in a conserved region of E. coli 23 S RNA (5). A 37-nucleotide RNA with the same sequence as a 23 S RNA fragment containing the target uridine is a RumA substrate. The 37-mer, substituted with a 5-fluorouridine at U1939, was co-crystallized with the enzyme and an AdoMet analog, SAH. In the complex, the 5'-end loop adopts a new fold that complements the detailed shape and electrostatics of the protein surface and positions the 5-fluorouridine in the active site, where it is covalently bound to the catalytic Cys (Fig. 1). Another base from the 5'-loop, A1937, also inserts into the active site where it stacks against the adenine ring of the SAH. Not only does A1937 assist in cofactor binding, but it also enhances catalysis by positioning the methyl group for transfer to the target base (4). Two other bases from the RNA loop are inserted into the spaces vacated by the F5U1939 and A1937, and the new fold is further stabilized by intra-RNA and RNA-protein hydrogen bonds. Protein-RNA interactions are enhanced by conformational changes in RumA, although these changes are far less dramatic than the refolding of the RNA substrate. The requirements for an RNA substrate to be able to "refold" into the unusual conformation and form specific hydrogen bonds with the protein are powerful constraints that help explain the high specificity of RumA.
Interactions between RNA-modifying enzymes and RNA substrate distal to the active site can enhance the chemical rate (kcat) as well as the substrate binding affinity. The 3'-segment of the 37-mer co-crystallized with RumA is a hairpin that makes few contacts with the 5'-end loop and is distant from the target base. The hairpin binds to a small RNA-binding domain in RumA with an OB-fold, which is separated from the catalytic domain by a flexible linker. The 12-mer substrate RNA, in which the hairpin is absent, has a 30-fold lower kcat and 110-fold lower catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) than the 37-mer. The hairpin binding to the OB-fold domain apparently helps stabilize productive alignment of the target base and active site residues.
, the C-C glycosyl isomer of uridine, is the most common modification of RNA, and it occurs in most stable RNAs including tRNA, rRNA, tmRNA, and snRNAs (6, 7). In prokaryotes, pseudouridylation is mediated by a set of enzymes that recognize one or a few sites. Eukaryotes and archaea have analogous site-specific synthases but also use a set of ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs) for pseudouridylation. Guide snoRNAs in these RNPs determine substrate specificity. Although the reaction catalyzed by each of these enzymes is the same, the substrate specificity varies from simple stem-loop structures to larger and more complex three-dimensional RNA molecules.
Based on sequence alignments,
Apart from the conserved core the enzymes are structurally very diverse (Fig. 2). Inserts unique to a particular
TruBTruB is responsible for the universally conserved
In three independently solved TruB-RNA crystal structures the stem-loop bound at the active site is stacked end-to-end with either the stem-loop from a neighboring complex (15, 17) or with an RNA duplex formed by extra copies of the co-crystallized RNA fragment (16). The stacked RNAs mimic a single extended RNA stem-loop bound at the active site. In all three of the crystal structures the PUA domain has moved as a rigid body toward the active site and makes nonspecific interactions with the extended stem. When whole tRNA is superimposed on the TruB complex by aligning its T stem-loop with the active site-bound RNA fragment, the tRNA acceptor stem-loop aligns with the second, "stacked" RNA fragment. These three independent observations of PUA-RNA interactions indicate the strong tendency of the PUA domain to bind RNA and, according to the TruB-tRNA model, to recognize the acceptor stem-loops in the intact tRNA. A PUA domain in an archaeal tRNA-modifying enzyme, the archaeosine-specific transglycosylase, also interacts with the acceptor stem-loop of tRNA, despite having low sequence homology to the TruB PUA domain (18). On the other hand, in the eukaryotic 55 synthase Pus4, a domain with an unknown fold replaces the PUA domain, suggesting that the PUA domain is a generic RNA binding motif that can be interchanged with a variety of other such motifs (19).
TruDAlthough TruD is evolutionarily distant from all other
TruATruA modifies uridines at positions 3840 of the anticodon stem-loop of tRNAs; thus it is an example of a
The RsuA and RluA families are the two most closely related of the five families based on sequence similarities. Full-length crystal structures of RsuA (23) and of the RluA family member RluD4 have been solved. Each has an N-terminal domain that is connected to the catalytic domain by a flexible linker. These domains have the same fold as the RNA-binding domain of ribosomal protein S4, and hence are referred to as S4 domains (12). Superpositions of RsuA and RluD onto TruB show that the S4 domains can interact extensively with an RNA helix that extrudes away from the binding pocket like the extended stems in the TruB-RNA complexes. However, the S4 domain does not appear to be absolutely required for the function of enzymes in the RluA family as RluA and TruC from this family do not have the domain.
At least in prokaryotes, RsuA family members are highly specific, usually modifying a single site on rRNA. RluA family members, in contrast, typically show broader, regional specificity. Neither sequence differences nor the apoenzyme structures provide obvious explanations for the differences in selectivity, and no crystal structures of substrate-bound enzymes have been reported. Therefore, the substrate recognition mechanisms for the RsuA and RluA family are still poorly understood.
Eukaryotes and archaea utilize a different strategy than prokaryotes for selecting rRNA sites for the modification (24). A TruB homolog, Cbf5, forms a heterotetramer with three accessory proteins. The heterotetramer then binds to one of a family of guide snoRNAs that are characterized by two conserved sequence motifs, called the box H (sequence ANANNA) and the box ACA motifs. The assembled H/ACA snoRNP then recognizes the target uridine through transient base pair interactions between the snoRNA and sequences in the rRNA on either side of the target site (25). Thus, 50100 target sites in rRNA can be efficiently modified by a single protein complex simply by using a different H/ACA snoRNA for each target site. Crystal structures of an archaeal H/ACA snoRNP reveal the close structural homology between Cbf5 and TruB (2628). Cbf5 has a PUA domain, which interacts with the ACA motif at the 3'-end of the guide snoRNA and a flexible loop, corresponding to the thumb domain of TruB, which could bind and stabilize substrate RNA. The PUA-ACA interactions precisely align the guide sequences of the snoRNA with the active site of Cbf5 (27). The three accessory proteins in the archaeal RNP (L7a3, Nop10, and Gar1), which are essential for function, have been proposed to play roles in supporting the snoRNA, stabilizing the RNP, and possibly guiding the target RNA to the active site (2628). Although the structures of the RNP do not contain substrate RNA, their parallels to the TruB structures have suggested detailed mechanisms for snoRNA-guided substrate binding (27). Because the RNP can be assembled with mixtures of eukaryotic and archaeal components and there is a high degree of sequence identity between corresponding components from the two kingdoms, the proposed mechanisms for RNA recognition can likely be generalized to eukaryotes (26).
RNA-modifying enzymes face the challenging task of binding target nucleotides deeply buried in the folded or partially folded RNA. Structural studies of m5U MTases and synthases have revealed some common strategies for substrate recognition. These include electrostatic attraction and shape complementarity, stabilization of new substrate RNA folds, and use of flexible protein loops to precisely position the target nucleotide in the active site. The wide range of substrates and different degrees of substrate specificity for the enzymes in these families implies each enzyme's substrate binding mechanism will have unique features that we can begin to understand through the structures of their substrate complexes.
* This minireview will be reprinted in the 2006 Minireview Compendium, which will be available in January, 2007. This review was written with support from National Institutes of Health Grant GM51232 (to R. M. S.) and a Larry Hillblom Foundation fellowship (to S. H.). 1 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143. Tel.: 415-502-5426; Fax: 415-476-1902; E-mail: finer{at}msg.ucsf.edu.
2 The abbreviations used are: m5U, 5-methyluridine; F5U, 5-fluorouridine; MTase, methyltransferase;
3 S. Hur and R. M. Stroud, unpublished data.
4 P. G. Foster, J. Finer-Moore, and R. M. Stroud, unpublished data.
We thank Pat Greene for critically reading this manuscript.
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