GTP binding and hydrolysis by the signal recognition particle during initiation of protein translocation

Nature ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 366 (6453) ◽  
pp. 351-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua D. Miller ◽  
Heike Wilhelm ◽  
Lila Gierasch ◽  
Reid Gilmore ◽  
Peter Walter
1994 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 887-897 ◽  
Author(s):  
P J Rapiejko ◽  
R Gilmore

The identification of GTP-binding sites in the 54-kDa subunit of the signal recognition particle (SRP) and in both the alpha and beta subunits of the SRP receptor has complicated the task of defining the step in the protein translocation reaction that is controlled by the GTP-binding site in the SRP. Ribonucleotide binding assays show that the purified SRP can bind GDP or GTP. However, crosslinking experiments show that SRP54 can recognize the signal sequence of a nascent polypeptide in the absence of GTP. Targeting of SRP-ribosome-nascent polypeptide complexes, formed in the absence of GTP, to microsomal membranes likewise proceeds normally. To separate the GTPase cycles of SRP54 and the alpha subunit of the SRP receptor (SR alpha), we employed an SR alpha mutant that displays a markedly reduced affinity for GTP. We observed that the dissociation of SRP54 from the signal sequence and the insertion of the nascent polypeptide into the translocation site could only occur when GTP binding to SR alpha was permitted. These data suggest that the GTP binding and hydrolysis cycles of both SRP54 and SR alpha are initiated upon formation of the SRP-SRP receptor complex.


1992 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
P J Rapiejko ◽  
R Gilmore

The signal recognition particle (SRP)-mediated translocation of proteins across the RER is a GTP dependent process. Analysis of the primary amino acid sequence of one protein subunit of SRP (SRP54), as well as the alpha subunit of the SRP receptor (SR alpha), has indicated that these proteins contain predicted GTP binding sites. Several point mutations confined to the GTP binding consensus elements of SR alpha were constructed by site specific mutagenesis to define a role for the GTP binding site in SR alpha during protein translocation. The SR alpha mutants were analyzed using an in vitro system wherein SR alpha-deficient microsomal membranes were repopulated with SR alpha by in vitro translation of wild-type or mutant mRNA transcripts. SRP receptors containing SR alpha point mutants were analyzed for their ability to function in protein translocation and to form guanylyl-5'-imidodiphosphate (Gpp[NH]p) stabilized complexes with the SRP. Mutations in SR alpha produced SRP receptors that were either impaired or inactive in protein translocation. These SRP receptors were likewise unable to form Gpp(NH)p stabilized complexes with the SRP. One SR alpha point mutant, Thr 588 to Asn 588, required 50- to 100-fold higher concentrations of GTP relative to the wild-type SR alpha to function in protein translocation. This mutant has provided information on the reaction step in protein translocation that involves the GTP binding site in the alpha subunit of the SRP receptor.


1993 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 799-807 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Connolly ◽  
R Gilmore

Translocation of proteins across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane is a GTP-dependent process. The signal recognition particle (SRP) and the SRP receptor both contain subunits with GTP binding domains. One GTP-dependent reaction during protein translocation is the SRP receptor-mediated dissociation of SRP from the signal sequence of a nascent polypeptide. Here, we have assayed the SRP and the SRP receptor for GTP binding and hydrolysis activities. GTP hydrolysis by SRP was not detected, so the maximal GTP hydrolysis rate for SRP was estimated to be < 0.002 mol GTP hydrolyzed x mol of SRP-1 x min-1. The intrinsic GTP hydrolysis activity of the SRP receptor ranged between 0.02 and 0.04 mol GTP hydrolyzed x mol of SRP receptor-1 x min-1. A 40-fold enhancement of GTP hydrolysis activity relative to that observed for the SRP receptor alone was obtained when complexes were formed between SRP and the SRP receptor. GTP hydrolysis activity was inhibited by GDP, but not by ATP. Extended incubation of the SRP or the SRP receptor with GTP resulted in substoichiometric quantities of protein-bound ribonucleotide. SRP-SRP receptor complexes engaged in GTP hydrolysis were found to contain a minimum of one bound guanine ribonucleotide per SRP-SRP receptor complex. We conclude that the GTP hydrolysis activity described here is indicative of one of the GTPase cycles that occur during protein translocation across the endoplasmic reticulum.


Science ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 344 (6179) ◽  
pp. 101-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Timo Grotwinkel ◽  
Klemens Wild ◽  
Bernd Segnitz ◽  
Irmgard Sinning

The signal recognition particle (SRP) is central to membrane protein targeting; SRP RNA is essential for SRP assembly, elongation arrest, and activation of SRP guanosine triphosphatases. In eukaryotes, SRP function relies on the SRP68-SRP72 heterodimer. We present the crystal structures of the RNA-binding domain of SRP68 (SRP68-RBD) alone and in complex with SRP RNA and SRP19. SRP68-RBD is a tetratricopeptide-like module that binds to a RNA three-way junction, bends the RNA, and inserts an α-helical arginine-rich motif (ARM) into the major groove. The ARM opens the conserved 5f RNA loop, which in ribosome-bound SRP establishes a contact to ribosomal RNA. Our data provide the structural basis for eukaryote-specific, SRP68-driven RNA remodeling required for protein translocation.


eLife ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas R Noriega ◽  
Jin Chen ◽  
Peter Walter ◽  
Joseph D Puglisi

The signal recognition particle (SRP) directs translating ribosome-nascent chain complexes (RNCs) that display a signal sequence to protein translocation channels in target membranes. All previous work on the initial step of the targeting reaction, when SRP binds to RNCs, used stalled and non-translating RNCs. This meant that an important dimension of the co-translational process remained unstudied. We apply single-molecule fluorescence measurements to observe directly and in real-time E. coli SRP binding to actively translating RNCs. We show at physiologically relevant SRP concentrations that SRP-RNC association and dissociation rates depend on nascent chain length and the exposure of a functional signal sequence outside the ribosome. Our results resolve a long-standing question: how can a limited, sub-stoichiometric pool of cellular SRP effectively distinguish RNCs displaying a signal sequence from those that are not? The answer is strikingly simple: as originally proposed, SRP only stably engages translating RNCs exposing a functional signal sequence.


1991 ◽  
Vol 275 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Welsh ◽  
C Oberg ◽  
M Welsh

We aimed to elucidate the putative role of GTP-binding proteins in the regulation of insulin biosynthesis. For this purpose, freshly isolated rat islets were incubated in the presence of liposomes containing GDP, guanosine 5′-[beta-thio]diphosphate (GDP[S]), GTP, guanosine 5′-[gamma-thio]triphosphate (GTP[S]), guanosine 5′-[beta gamma-methylene]triphosphate (p[CH2]ppG), guanosine 5′[beta gamma-imido]triphosphate (p[NH]ppG) and ATP, and the effects of the liposomal delivery of these substances on rates of biosynthesis of insulin and total protein were determined. Insulin biosynthesis during a 1 h incubation at 1.67 mM-glucose was stimulated by ATP- and GTP[S]-containing liposomes as compared with control liposomes. At 16.7 mM-glucose, only the GTP[S]-containing liposomes stimulated insulin biosynthesis. No inhibition of islet protein and insulin synthesis was observed with GDP-, GDP[S]-, p[CH2]ppG- and p[NH]ppG-containing liposomes. By determining the subcellular distribution of insulin mRNA, it was found that the mRNA content associated with microsomes was increased and that associated with the cytosolic mono-/poly-somes decreased when the islets were incubated with GTP[S]-containing liposomes, resulting in an approximate doubling of the ratio of microsomal to polysomal-associated insulin mRNA. ATP-containing liposomes produced no effects on the association of insulin mRNA with microsomes. By using photoaffinity labelling and immunoprecipitation techniques, specific binding of GTP[35S] to the alpha-subunit of the signal-recognition particle (SRP) receptor in islet homogenates containing physiological concentrations of GTP and GDP was demonstrated. These findings suggest that the GTP-binding subunit(s) of the SRP receptor, and possibly also of other GTP-binding proteins involved in this process, may regulate insulin biosynthesis by stimulating the translocation of insulin mRNA to the endoplasmic reticulum and by increasing preproinsulin-peptide translocation into the lumen of the reticulum.


2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (12) ◽  
pp. 3260-3267 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Wesley Rose ◽  
Mechthild Pohlschröder

ABSTRACT The evolutionarily conserved signal recognition particle (SRP) plays an integral role in Sec-mediated cotranslational protein translocation and membrane protein insertion, as it has been shown to target nascent secretory and membrane proteins to the bacterial and eukaryotic translocation pores. However, little is known about its function in archaea, since characterization of the SRP in this domain of life has thus far been limited to in vitro reconstitution studies of heterologously expressed archaeal SRP components identified by sequence comparisons. In the present study, the genes encoding the SRP54, SRP19, and 7S RNA homologs (hv54h, hv19h, and hv7Sh, respectively) of the genetically and biochemically tractable archaeon Haloferax volcanii were cloned, providing the tools to analyze the SRP in its native host. As part of this analysis, an hv54h knockout strain was created. In vivo characterization of this strain revealed that the archaeal SRP is required for viability, suggesting that cotranslational protein translocation is an essential process in archaea. Furthermore, a method for the purification of this SRP employing nickel chromatography was developed in H. volcanii, allowing the successful copurification of (i) Hv7Sh with a histidine-tagged Hv54h, as well as (ii) Hv54h and Hv7Sh with a histidine-tagged Hv19h. These results provide the first in vivo evidence that these components interact in archaea. Such copurification studies will provide insight into the significance of the similarities and differences of the protein-targeting systems of the three domains of life, thereby increasing knowledge about the recognition of translocated proteins in general.


1993 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 1113-1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Zopf ◽  
H D Bernstein ◽  
P Walter

The 54-kD subunit of the signal recognition particle (SRP54) binds to signal sequences of nascent secretory and transmembrane proteins. SRP54 consists of two separable domains, a 33-kD amino-terminal domain that contains a GTP-binding site (SRP54G) and a 22-kD carboxy-terminal domain (SRP54M) containing binding sites for both the signal sequence and SRP RNA. To examine the function of the two domains in more detail, we have purified SRP54M and used it to assemble a partial SRP that lacks the amino-terminal domain of SRP54 [SRP(-54G)]. This particle recognized signal sequences in two independent assays, albeit less efficiently than intact SRP. Analysis of the signal sequence binding activity of free SRP54 and SRP54M supports the conclusion that SRP54M binds signal sequences with lower affinity than the intact protein. In contrast, when SRP(-54G) was assayed for its ability to promote the translocation of preprolactin across microsomal membranes, it was completely inactive, apparently because it was unable to interact normally with the SRP receptor. These results imply that SRP54G plays an essential role in SRP-mediated targeting of nascent chain-ribosome complexes to the ER membrane and also influences signal sequence recognition, possibly by promoting a tighter association between signal sequences and SRP54M.


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