scholarly journals The Ribosome Regulates the Gtpase of the β-Subunit of the Signal Recognition Particle Receptor

1999 ◽  
Vol 146 (4) ◽  
pp. 723-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Bacher ◽  
Martin Pool ◽  
Bernhard Dobberstein

Protein targeting to the membrane of the ER is regulated by three GTPases, the 54-kD subunit of the signal recognition particle (SRP) and the α- and β-subunit of the SRP receptor (SR). Here, we report on the GTPase cycle of the β-subunits of the SR (SRβ). We found that SRβ binds GTP with high affinity and interacts with ribosomes in the GTP-bound state. Subsequently, the ribosome increases the GTPase activity of SRβ and thus functions as a GTPase activating protein for SRβ. Furthermore, the interaction between SRβ and the ribosome leads to a reduction in the affinity of SRβ for guanine nucleotides. We propose that SRβ regulates the interaction of SR with the ribosome and thereby allows SRα to scan membrane-bound ribosomes for the presence of SRP. Interaction between SRP and SRα then leads to release of the signal sequence from SRP and insertion into the translocon. GTP hydrolysis then results in dissociation of SR from the ribosome, and SRP from the SR.

1995 ◽  
Vol 128 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
J D Miller ◽  
S Tajima ◽  
L Lauffer ◽  
P Walter

The signal recognition particle receptor (SR) is required for the cotranslational targeting of both secretory and membrane proteins to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. During targeting, the SR interacts with the signal recognition particle (SRP) which is bound to the signal sequence of the nascent protein chain. This interaction catalyzes the GTP-dependent transfer of the nascent chain from SRP to the protein translocation apparatus in the ER membrane. The SR is a heterodimeric protein comprised of a 69-kD subunit (SR alpha) and a 30-kD subunit (SR beta) which are associated with the ER membrane in an unknown manner. SR alpha and the 54-kD subunits of SRP (SRP54) each contain related GTPase domains which are required for SR and SRP function. Molecular cloning and sequencing of a cDNA encoding SR beta revealed that SR beta is a transmembrane protein and, like SR alpha and SRP54, is a member of the GTPase superfamily. Although SR beta defines its own GTPase subfamily, it is distantly related to ARF and Sar1. Using UV cross-linking, we confirm that SR beta binds GTP specifically. Proteolytic digestion experiments show that SR alpha is required for the interaction of SRP with SR. SR alpha appears to be peripherally associated with the ER membrane, and we suggest that SR beta, as an integral membrane protein, mediates the membrane association of SR alpha. The discovery of its guanine nucleotide-binding domain, however, makes it likely that its role is more complex than that of a passive anchor for SR alpha. These findings suggest that a cascade of three directly interacting GTPases functions during protein targeting to the ER membrane.


2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 2309-2323 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Braig ◽  
Miryana Mircheva ◽  
Ilie Sachelaru ◽  
Eli O. van der Sluis ◽  
Lukas Sturm ◽  
...  

Protein targeting by the signal recognition particle (SRP) and the bacterial SRP receptor FtsY requires a series of closely coordinated steps that monitor the presence of a substrate, the membrane, and a vacant translocon. Although the influence of substrate binding on FtsY-SRP complex formation is well documented, the contribution of the membrane is largely unknown. In the current study, we found that negatively charged phospholipids stimulate FtsY-SRP complex formation. Phospholipids act on a conserved positively charged amphipathic helix in FtsY and induce a conformational change that strongly enhances the FtsY-lipid interaction. This membrane-bound, signal sequence–independent FtsY-SRP complex is able to recruit RNCs to the membrane and to transfer them to the Sec translocon. Significantly, the same results were also observed with an artificial FtsY-SRP fusion protein, which was tethered to the membrane via a transmembrane domain. This indicates that substrate recognition by a soluble SRP is not essential for cotranslational targeting in Escherichia coli. Our findings reveal a remarkable flexibility of SRP-dependent protein targeting, as they indicate that substrate recognition can occur either in the cytosol via ribosome-bound SRP or at the membrane via a preassembled FtsY-SRP complex.


2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 2728-2734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels Bradshaw ◽  
Peter Walter

The RNA component of the signal recognition particle (SRP) is universally required for cotranslational protein targeting. Biochemical studies have shown that SRP RNA participates in the central step of protein targeting by catalyzing the interaction of the SRP with the SRP receptor (SR). SRP RNA also accelerates GTP hydrolysis in the SRP·SR complex once formed. Using a reverse-genetic and biochemical analysis, we identified mutations in the E. coli SRP protein, Ffh, that abrogate the activity of the SRP RNA and cause corresponding targeting defects in vivo. The mutations in Ffh that disrupt SRP RNA activity map to regions that undergo dramatic conformational changes during the targeting reaction, suggesting that the activity of the SRP RNA is linked to the major conformational changes in the signal sequence-binding subunit of the SRP. In this way, the SRP RNA may coordinate the interaction of the SRP and the SR with ribosome recruitment and transfer to the translocon, explaining why the SRP RNA is an indispensable component of the protein targeting machinery.


2009 ◽  
Vol 390 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Przemyslaw Grudnik ◽  
Gert Bange ◽  
Irmgard Sinning

Abstract Protein targeting by the signal recognition particle (SRP) is universally conserved and starts with the recognition of a signal sequence in the context of a translating ribosome. SRP54 and FtsY, two multidomain proteins with guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) activity, are the central elements of the SRP system. They have to coordinate the presence of a signal sequence with the presence of a vacant translocation channel in the membrane. For coordination the two GTPases form a unique, nearly symmetric heterodimeric complex in which the activation of GTP hydrolysis plays a key role for membrane insertion of substrate proteins. Recent results are integrated in an updated perception of the order of events in SRP-mediated protein targeting.


2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (16) ◽  
pp. 3027-3040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Uta Berndt ◽  
Hanna Gölz ◽  
Arlette Tais ◽  
Stefan Oellerer ◽  
...  

Nascent polypeptide-associated complex (NAC) was initially found to bind to any segment of the nascent chain except signal sequences. In this way, NAC is believed to prevent mistargeting due to binding of signal recognition particle (SRP) to signalless ribosome nascent chain complexes (RNCs). Here we revisit the interplay between NAC and SRP. NAC does not affect SRP function with respect to signalless RNCs; however, NAC does affect SRP function with respect to RNCs targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). First, early recruitment of SRP to RNCs containing a signal sequence within the ribosomal tunnel is NAC dependent. Second, NAC is able to directly and tightly bind to nascent signal sequences. Third, SRP initially displaces NAC from RNCs; however, when the signal sequence emerges further, trimeric NAC·RNC·SRP complexes form. Fourth, upon docking to the ER membrane NAC remains bound to RNCs, allowing NAC to shield cytosolically exposed nascent chain domains not only before but also during cotranslational translocation. The combined data indicate a functional interplay between NAC and SRP on ER-targeted RNCs, which is based on the ability of the two complexes to bind simultaneously to distinct segments of a single nascent chain.


2007 ◽  
Vol 178 (4) ◽  
pp. 611-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-ou Shan ◽  
Sowmya Chandrasekar ◽  
Peter Walter

During cotranslational protein targeting, two guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) in the signal recognition particle (SRP) and its receptor (SR) form a unique complex in which hydrolyses of both guanosine triphosphates (GTP) are activated in a shared active site. It was thought that GTP hydrolysis drives the recycling of SRP and SR, but is not crucial for protein targeting. Here, we examined the translocation efficiency of mutant GTPases that block the interaction between SRP and SR at specific stages. Surprisingly, mutants that allow SRP–SR complex assembly but block GTPase activation severely compromise protein translocation. These mutations map to the highly conserved insertion box domain loops that rearrange upon complex formation to form multiple catalytic interactions with the two GTPs. Thus, although GTP hydrolysis is not required, the molecular rearrangements that lead to GTPase activation are essential for protein targeting. Most importantly, our results show that an elaborate rearrangement within the SRP–SR GTPase complex is required to drive the unloading and initiate translocation of cargo proteins.


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