Novel intron-encoded small nucleolar RNAs with long sequence complementarities to mature rRNAs involved in ribosome biogenesis

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 835-843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Pierre Bachellerie ◽  
Monique Nicoloso ◽  
Liang-Hu Qu ◽  
Bernard Michot ◽  
Michèle Caizergues-Ferrer ◽  
...  

Recently, several new snoRNAs encoded in introns of genes coding for ribosomal, ribosome-associated, or nucleolar proteins have been discovered. We are presently studying four of these intronic snoRNAs. Three of them, U20, U21, and U24, are closely related to each other on a structural basis. They are included in genes encoding nucleolin and ribosomal proteins L5 and L7a, respectively, in warm-blooded vertebrates. These three metabolically stable snoRNAs interact with nucleolar protein fibrillarin. In addition, they display common features that make them strikingly related to snoRNA U14. U14 contains two tracts of complementarity to 18S rRNA, which are required for the production of 18S rRNA. U20 displays a 21 nucleotide (nt) long complementarity to 18S rRNA. U21 contains a 13 nt complementarity to an invariant sequence in eukaryotic 28S rRNA. U24 has two separate 12 nt long complementarities to a highly conserved tract of 28S rRNA. Phylogenetic evidences support the fundamental importance of the pairings of these three snoRNAs to pre-rRNA, which could be involved in a control of pre-rRNA folding during preribosome assembly. By transfection of mouse cells, we have also analyzed the processing of U20 and found that the -cis acting signals for its processing from intronic RNA are restricted to the mature snoRNA sequence. Finally, we have documented changes of host genes for these three intronic snoRNAs during the evolution of eukaryotes.Key words: snoRNA, pre-rRNA, folding, genes, introns.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ke An ◽  
Jing-Bo Zhou ◽  
Yao Xiong ◽  
Wei Han ◽  
Tao Wang ◽  
...  

Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA) is an inherited rare disease characterized with severe pure red cell aplasia, and it is caused by the defective ribosome biogenesis stemming from the impairment of ribosomal proteins. Among all DBA-associated ribosomal proteins, RPS19 affects most patients and carries most DBA mutations. Revealing how these mutations lead to the impairment of RPS19 is highly demanded for understanding the pathogenesis of DBA, but a systematic study is currently lacking. In this work, based on the complex structure of human ribosome, we comprehensively studied the structural basis of DBA mutations of RPS19 by using computational methods. Main structure elements and five conserved surface patches involved in RPS19-18S rRNA interaction were identified. We further revealed that DBA mutations would destabilize RPS19 through disrupting the hydrophobic core or breaking the helix, or perturb the RPS19-18S rRNA interaction through destroying hydrogen bonds, introducing steric hindrance effect, or altering surface electrostatic property at the interface. Moreover, we trained a machine-learning model to predict the pathogenicity of all possible RPS19 mutations. Our work has laid a foundation for revealing the pathogenesis of DBA from the structural perspective.


1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 4509-4518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pawel Pelczar ◽  
Witold Filipowicz

ABSTRACT Intron-encoded U17a and U17b RNAs are members of the H/ACA-box class of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) participating in rRNA processing and modification. We have investigated the organization and expression of the U17 locus in human cells and found that intronic U17a and U17b sequences are transcribed as part of the three-exon transcription unit, named U17HG, positioned approximately 9 kb upstream of the RCC1 locus. Comparison of the human and mouse U17HG genes has revealed that snoRNA-encoding intron sequences but not exon sequences are conserved between the two species and that neither human nor mouse spliced U17HGpoly(A)+ RNAs have the potential to code for proteins. Analyses of polysome profiles and effects of translation inhibitors on the abundance of U17HG RNA in HeLa cells indicated that despite its cytoplasmic localization, little if any U17HGRNA is associated with polysomes. This distinguishes U17HGRNA from another non-protein-coding snoRNA host gene product,UHG RNA, described previously (K. T. Tycowski, M. D. Shu, and J. A. Steitz, Nature 379:464–466, 1996). Determination of the 5′ terminus of the U17HG RNA revealed that transcription of the U17HG gene starts with a C residue followed by a polypyrimidine tract, making this gene a member of the 5′-terminal oligopyrimidine (5′TOP) family, which includes genes encoding ribosomal proteins and some translation factors. Interestingly, other known snoRNA host genes, including theUHG gene (Tycowski et al., op. cit.), have features of the 5′TOP genes. Similar characteristics of the transcription start site regions in snoRNA host and ribosomal protein genes raise the possibility that expression of components of ribosome biogenesis and translational machineries is coregulated.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hauke S. Hillen ◽  
Elena Lavdovskaia ◽  
Franziska Nadler ◽  
Elisa Hanitsch ◽  
Andreas Linden ◽  
...  

AbstractRibosome biogenesis requires auxiliary factors to promote folding and assembly of ribosomal proteins and RNA. Particularly, maturation of the peptidyl transferase center (PTC) is mediated by conserved GTPases, but the molecular basis is poorly understood. Here, we define the mechanism of GTPase-driven maturation of the human mitochondrial large ribosomal subunit (mtLSU) using endogenous complex purification, in vitro reconstitution and cryo-EM. Structures of transient native mtLSU assembly intermediates that accumulate in GTPBP6-deficient cells reveal how the biogenesis factors GTPBP5, MTERF4 and NSUN4 facilitate PTC folding. Addition of recombinant GTPBP6 reconstitutes late mtLSU biogenesis in vitro and shows that GTPBP6 triggers a molecular switch and progression to a near-mature PTC state. Additionally, cryo-EM analysis of GTPBP6-treated mature mitochondrial ribosomes reveals the structural basis for the dual-role of GTPBP6 in ribosome biogenesis and recycling. Together, these results provide a framework for understanding step-wise PTC folding as a critical conserved quality control checkpoint.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 4382-4390
Author(s):  
O J Rimoldi ◽  
B Raghu ◽  
M K Nag ◽  
G L Eliceiri

We have recently described three novel human small nucleolar RNA species with unique nucleotide sequences, which were named E1, E2, and E3. The present article describes specific psoralen photocross-linking in whole HeLa cells of E1, E2, and E3 RNAs to nucleolar pre-rRNA. These small RNAs were cross-linked to different sections of pre-rRNA. E1 RNA was cross-linked to two segments of nucleolar pre-rRNA; one was within residues 697 to 1163 of the 5' external transcribed spacer, and the other one was between nucleotides 664 and 1021 of the 18S rRNA sequence. E2 RNA was cross-linked to a region within residues 3282 to 3667 of the 28S rRNA sequence. E3 RNA was cross-linked to a sequence between positions 1021 and 1639 of the 18S rRNA sequence. Primer extension analysis located psoralen adducts in E1, E2, and E3 RNAs that were enriched in high-molecular-weight fractions of nucleolar RNA. Some of these psoralen adducts might be cross-links of E1, E2, and E3 RNAs to large nucleolar RNA. Antisense oligodeoxynucleotide-targeted RNase H digestion of nucleolar extracts revealed accessible segments in these three small RNAs. The accessible regions were within nucleotide positions 106 to 130 of E1 RNA, positions 24 to 48 and 42 to 66 of E2 RNA, and positions 7 to 16 and about 116 to 122 of E3 RNA. Some of the molecules of these small nucleolar RNAs sedimented as if associated with larger structures when both nondenatured RNA and a nucleolar extract were analyzed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hauke S. Hillen ◽  
Elena Lavdovskaia ◽  
Franziska Nadler ◽  
Elisa Hanitsch ◽  
Andreas Linden ◽  
...  

Ribosome biogenesis is an essential process that requires auxiliary factors to promote folding and assembly of ribosomal proteins and RNA. In particular, maturation of the peptidyl transferase center (PTC), the catalytic core of the ribosome, is mediated by universally conserved GTPases, but the molecular basis is poorly understood. Here, we define the mechanism of GTPase-driven maturation of the human mitochondrial ribosomal large subunit (mtLSU) using a combination of endogenous complex purification, in vitro reconstitution and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Structures of transient native mtLSU assembly intermediates that accumulate in GTPBP6-deficient cells reveal how the biogenesis factors GTPBP5, MTERF4 and NSUN4 facilitate PTC folding. Subsequent addition of recombinant GTPBP6 reconstitutes late mtLSU biogenesis in vitro and shows that GTPBP6 triggers a molecular switch by releasing MTERF4-NSUN4 and GTPBP5 accompanied by the progression to a near-mature PTC state. In addition, cryo-EM analysis of GTPBP6-treated mature mitochondrial ribosomes reveals the structural basis for the dual-role of GTPBP6 in ribosome biogenesis and recycling. Together, these results define the molecular basis of dynamic GTPase-mediated PTC maturation during mitochondrial ribosome biogenesis and provide a framework for understanding step-wise progression of PTC folding as a critical quality control checkpoint in all translation systems.


2019 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 281-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Baßler ◽  
Ed Hurt

Ribosomes, which synthesize the proteins of a cell, comprise ribosomal RNA and ribosomal proteins, which coassemble hierarchically during a process termed ribosome biogenesis. Historically, biochemical and molecular biology approaches have revealed how preribosomal particles form and mature in consecutive steps, starting in the nucleolus and terminating after nuclear export into the cytoplasm. However, only recently, due to the revolution in cryo–electron microscopy, could pseudoatomic structures of different preribosomal particles be obtained. Together with in vitro maturation assays, these findings shed light on how nascent ribosomes progress stepwise along a dynamic biogenesis pathway. Preribosomes assemble gradually, chaperoned by a myriad of assembly factors and small nucleolar RNAs, before they reach maturity and enter translation. This information will lead to a better understanding of how ribosome synthesis is linked to other cellular pathways in humans and how it can cause diseases, including cancer, if disturbed.


2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 5534-5547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Grigull ◽  
Sanie Mnaimneh ◽  
Jeffrey Pootoolal ◽  
Mark D. Robinson ◽  
Timothy R. Hughes

ABSTRACT Using DNA microarrays, we compared global transcript stability profiles following chemical inhibition of transcription to rpb1-1 (a temperature-sensitive allele of yeast RNA polymerase II). Among the five inhibitors tested, the effects of thiolutin and 1,10-phenanthroline were most similar to rpb1-1. A comparison to various microarray data already in the literature revealed similarity between mRNA stability profiles and the transcriptional response to stresses such as heat shock, consistent with the fact that the general stress response includes a transient shutoff of general mRNA transcription. Genes encoding factors involved in rRNA synthesis and ribosome assembly, which are often observed to be coordinately down-regulated in yeast microarray data, were among the least stable transcripts. We examined the effects of deletions of genes encoding deadenylase components Ccr4p and Pan2p and putative RNA-binding proteins Pub1p and Puf4p on the genome-wide pattern of mRNA stability after inhibition of transcription by chemicals and/or heat stress. This examination showed that Ccr4p, the major yeast mRNA deadenylase, contributes to the degradation of transcripts encoding both ribosomal proteins and rRNA synthesis and ribosome assembly factors and mediates a large part of the transcriptional response to heat stress. Pan2p and Puf4p also contributed to the degradation rate of these mRNAs following transcriptional shutoff, while Pub1p preferentially stabilized transcripts encoding ribosomal proteins. Our results indicate that the abundance of ribosome biogenesis factors is controlled at the level of mRNA stability.


1999 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serafı́n Piñol-Roma

rRNA precursors are bound throughout their length by specific proteins, as the pre-rRNAs emerge from the transcription machinery. The association of pre-rRNA with proteins as ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes persists during maturation of 18S, 5.8S, and 28S rRNA, and through assembly of ribosomal subunits in the nucleolus. Preribosomal RNP complexes contain, in addition to ribosomal proteins, an unknown number of nonribosomal nucleolar proteins, as well as small nucleolar RNA-ribonucleoproteins (sno-RNPs). This report describes the use of a specific, rapid, and mild immunopurification approach to isolate and analyze human RNP complexes that contain nonribosomal nucleolar proteins, as well as ribosomal proteins and rRNA. Complexes immunopurified with antibodies to nucleolin—a major nucleolar RNA-binding protein—contain several distinct specific polypeptides that include, in addition to nucleolin, the previously identified nucleolar proteins B23 and fibrillarin, proteins with electrophoretic mobilities characteristic of ribosomal proteins including ribosomal protein S6, and a number of additional unidentified proteins. The physical association of these proteins with one another is mediated largely by RNA, in that the complexes dissociate upon digestion with RNase. Complexes isolated from M-phase cells are similar in protein composition to those isolated from interphase cell nuclear extracts. Therefore, the predominant proteins that associate with nucleolin in interphase remain in RNP complexes during mitosis, despite the cessation of rRNA synthesis and processing in M-phase. In addition, precursor rRNA, as well as processed 18S and 28S rRNA and candidate rRNA processing intermediates, is found associated with the immunopurified complexes. The characteristics of the rRNP complexes described here, therefore, indicate that they represent bona fide precursors of mature cytoplasmic ribosomal subunits.


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 5441-5452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah J. Lee ◽  
Susan J. Baserga

ABSTRACT The function of the U3 small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein (snoRNP) is central to the events surrounding pre-rRNA processing, as evidenced by the severe defects in cleavage of pre-18S rRNA precursors observed upon depletion of the U3 RNA and its unique protein components. Although the precise function of each component remains unclear, since U3 snoRNA levels remain unchanged upon genetic depletion of these proteins, it is likely that the proteins themselves have significant roles in the cleavage reactions. Here we report the identification of two previously undescribed protein components of the U3 snoRNP, representing the first snoRNP components identified by using the two-hybrid methodology. By screening for proteins that physically associate with the U3 snoRNP-specific protein, Mpp10p, we have identified Imp3p (22 kDa) and Imp4p (34 kDa) (named for interacting with Mpp10p). The genes encoding both proteins are essential in yeast. Genetic depletion reveals that both proteins are critical for U3 snoRNP function in pre-18S rRNA processing at the A0, A1, and A2 sites in the pre-rRNA. Both Imp proteins associate with Mpp10p in vivo, and both are complexed only with the U3 snoRNA. Conservation of RNA binding domains between Imp3p and the S4 family of ribosomal proteins suggests that it might associate with RNA directly. However, as with other U3 snoRNP-specific proteins, neither Imp3p nor Imp4p is required for maintenance of U3 snoRNA integrity. Imp3p and Imp4p are therefore novel protein components specific to the U3 snoRNP with critical roles in pre-rRNA cleavage events.


2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 3686-3699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Qiu ◽  
Julia Eifert ◽  
Ludivine Wacheul ◽  
Marc Thiry ◽  
Adam C. Berger ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) orchestrate the modification and cleavage of pre-rRNA and are essential for ribosome biogenesis. Recent data suggest that after nucleoplasmic synthesis, snoRNAs transiently localize to the Cajal body (in plant and animal cells) or the homologous nucleolar body (in budding yeast) for maturation and assembly into snoRNPs prior to accumulation in their primary functional site, the nucleolus. However, little is known about the trans-acting factors important for the intranuclear trafficking and nucleolar localization of snoRNAs. Here, we describe a large-scale genetic screen to identify proteins important for snoRNA transport in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We performed fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis to visualize U3 snoRNA localization in a collection of temperature-sensitive yeast mutants. We have identified Nop4, Prp21, Tao3, Sec14, and Htl1 as proteins important for the proper localization of U3 snoRNA. Mutations in genes encoding these proteins lead to specific defects in the targeting or retention of the snoRNA to either the nucleolar body or the nucleolus. Additional characterization of the mutants revealed impairment in specific steps of U3 snoRNA processing, demonstrating that snoRNA maturation and trafficking are linked processes.


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