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PubMed2002

DEAD box RhlB RNA helicase physically associates with exoribonuclease PNPase to degrade double-stranded RNA independent of the degradosome-assembling region of RNase E.

The Escherichia coli RNA degradosome is a multicomponent ribonucleolytic complex consisting of three major proteins that assemble on a scaffold provided by the C-terminal region of the endonuclease, RNase E. Using an E. coli two-hybrid system, together with BIAcore apparatus, we investigated the ability of three proteins, polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase), RhlB RNA helicase, and enolase, a glycolytic protein, to interact physically and functionally independently of RNase E. Here we report that Rh1B can physically bind to PNPase, both in vitro and in vivo, and can also form homodimers with itself. However, binding of RhlB or PNPase to enolase was not detected under the same conditions. BIAcore analysis revealed real-time, direct binding for bimolecular interactions between Rh1B units and for the RhlB interaction with PNPase. Furthermore, in the absence of RNase E, purified RhlB can carry out ATP-dependent unwinding of double-stranded RNA and consequently modulate degradation of double-stranded RNA together with the exonuclease activity of PNPase. These results provide evidence for the first time that both functional and physical interactions of individual degradosome protein components can occur in the absence of RNase E and raise the prospect that the RNase E-independent complexes of RhlB RNA helicase and PNPase, detected in vivo, may constitute mini-machines that assist in the degradation of duplex RNA in structures physically distinct from multicomponent RNA degradosomes.

Endoribonucleases↗
PubMed2026

A structural bridge between dengue virus tandem xrRNAs facilitates coordination of exonuclease resistance.

Orthoflavivirus RNA genomes resist host 5'-3' exoribonucleases to produce subgenomic flaviviral RNAs (sfRNAs). This resistance is conferred by exoribonuclease-resistant RNA (xrRNA) structures within the viral 3' untranslated region that often occur in tandem, and whose function can be coupled. In dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV2), this coupling results in changing patterns of sfRNA identity and abundance associated with the ability of the virus to adapt to host vs. vector infections. The physical basis of this coupling was unknown. Using a combination of virology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, structural biology, and biophysics, we explored the structural and sequence determinants of tandem xrRNA coupling in DENV2. We discovered that the spatial proximity, order, and structural integrity of the tandem xrRNAs are all important for coupling. Furthermore, an unpaired A-rich linker that lies between the two xrRNAs is essential in stabilizing a specific structure that correlates to coupling. This A-rich sequence likely forms tertiary contacts with an adjacent stem-loop structure to form a physical bridge between the two xrRNAs, a finding that is supported by a mid-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) map of the DENV2 tandem xrRNAs. Disruption of the structure of this bridge by mutation changes the relative orientation or spacing between the tandem xrRNAs, which is correlated to their functional coupling. These findings help provide an explanation for the coupling between tandem xrRNAs, suggesting a new mechanistic hypothesis in which the two tandem xrRNAs can simultaneously encounter Xrn1.IMPORTANCEDengue virus (DENV) generates non-coding subgenomic flaviviral RNAs (sfRNAs) that affect several cellular pathways and are important for successful infection. These sfRNAs are formed by structured RNA elements in the viral genome called exoribonuclease-resistant RNAs (xrRNAs), which fold into a distinct three-dimensional topology to block degradation by host cell exoribonucleases and often occur in tandem. Specific patterns of sfRNAs made during infection are important for host vs. vector fitness, and in DENV2, this pattern depends on functional coupling between tandem xrRNAs. However, the source of this functional coupling was unknown. We determined that an unpaired A-rich linker between the tandem xrRNAs is necessary for creating a structural bridge between the tandem xrRNAs. This bridge appears to favor a specific orientation between the tandem xrRNAs that is correlated to coupling and therefore to the patterns and relative abundance of sfRNAs produced during infection.

Dengue Virus↗
PubMed1990

Trypanosoma brucei: calcium-dependent endoribonuclease is associated with inhibitor protein.

T. brucei cytoplasmic calcium-dependent alkaline ribonuclease activity from DEAE-cellulose fractionation was separated into endoribonuclease and exoribonuclease activities by hydroxyapatite chromatography. T. brucei cytoplasmic extract markedly decreased the endoribonuclease activity, but slightly potentiated the activities of the exoribonuclease and bovine ribonuclease A. While the endoribonuclease was activated by trypsin, the exoribonuclease and bovine ribonuclease A were partially inactivated by trypsin. The endoribonuclease was activated by p-chloromercuribenzoate or N-ethylmaleimide; the exoribonuclease was not affected by these sulfhydryl group reagents. Free ribonuclease was separated from the latent endoribonuclease by 1 M NaCl-Sephadex G-100 gel filtration. The results demonstrate that T. brucei cytoplasm contains a latent endoribonuclease consisting of ribonuclease and inhibitor protein.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

RNA polyadenylation and degradation in different Archaea; roles of the exosome and RNase R.

Polyadenylation is a process common to almost all organisms. In eukaryotes, stable poly(A)-tails, important for mRNA stability and translation initiation, are added to the 3' ends of most mRNAs. Contrarily, polyadenylation can stimulate RNA degradation, a phenomenon witnessed in prokaryotes, organelles and recently, for nucleus-encoded RNA as well. Polyadenylation takes place in hyperthermophilic archaea and is mediated by the archaeal exosome, but no RNA polyadenylation was detected in halophiles. Here, we analyzed polyadenylation in the third archaea group, the methanogens, in which some members contain genes encoding the exosome but others lack these genes. Polyadenylation was found in the methanogen, Methanopyrus kandleri, containing the exosome genes, but not in members which lack these genes. To explore how RNA is degraded in the absence of the exosome and without polyadenylation, we searched for the exoribonuclease that is involved in this process. No homologous proteins for any other known exoribonuclease were detected in this group. However, the halophilic archaea contain a gene homologous to the exoribonuclease RNase R. This ribonuclease is not able to degrade structured RNA better than PNPase. RNase R, which appears to be the only exoribonucleases in Haloferax volcanii, was found to be essential for viability.

Archaea↗
PubMed2002

RNase E plays an essential role in the maturation of Escherichia coli tRNA precursors.

Conversion of tRNA precursors to their mature forms requires the action of both endo- and exoribonucleases. Although studies over many years identified the endoribonuclease, RNase P, and several exoribonucleases as the enzymes responsible for generating the mature 5' and 3' termini, respectively, of Escherichia coli tRNAs, relatively little is known about how tRNAs are separated from long multimeric or multifunction transcripts, or from long leader and trailer sequences. To examine this question, the tRNA products that accumulate in mutant strains devoid of multiple exoribonucleases plus one or several endoribonucleases were analyzed by northern analysis. We find that the multifunction tyrT transcript, which contains two tRNA(Tyr)1 sequences separated by a 209-nt spacer region plus a downstream mRNA, is cleaved at three sites in the spacer region by the endoribonuclease, RNase E. When both RNase E and RNase P are absent, a product containing both tRNAs accumulates. Two multimeric tRNA transcripts, those for tRNA Arg-His-Leu-Pro and tRNA Gly-Cys-Leu also require RNase E for maturation. For the former transcript, products with long 3' extensions on tRNA(Arg), tRNA(His), and tRNA(Pro), as well as the primary transcript, accumulate in the absence of RNase E. For the latter transcript, RNase E cleaves downstream of each tRNA. Little processing of either multimeric transcript occurs in the absence of both RNase E and RNase P. These data indicate that RNase E is a major contributor to the initial processing of E. coli tRNA transcripts, providing substrates for final maturation by RNase P and the 3' exoribonucleases. Based on this new information, a detailed model for tRNA maturation is proposed.

Blotting, Northern↗
PubMed2005

An important role for RNase R in mRNA decay.

mRNA decay is a major determinant of gene expression. In Escherichia coli, message degradation initiates with an endoribonucleolytic cleavage followed by exoribonuclease digestion to generate 5'-mononucleotides. Although the 3' to 5' processive exoribonucleases, PNPase and RNase II, have long been considered to be mediators of this digestion, we show here that another enzyme, RNase R, also participates in the process. RNase R is particularly important for removing mRNA fragments with extensive secondary structure, such as those derived from the many mRNAs that contain REP elements. In the absence of RNase R and PNPase, REP-containing fragments accumulate to high levels. RNase R is unusual among exoribonucleases in that, by itself, it can digest through extensive secondary structure provided that a single-stranded binding region, such as a poly(A) tail, is present. These data demonstrate that RNase R, which is widespread in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, is an important participant in mRNA decay.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2001

Functional link between the mammalian exosome and mRNA decapping.

Mechanistic understanding of mammalian mRNA turnover remains incomplete. We demonstrate that the 3' to 5' exoribonuclease decay pathway is a major contributor to mRNA decay both in cells and in cell extract. An exoribonuclease-dependent scavenger decapping activity was identified that follows decay of the mRNA and hydrolyzes the residual cap. The decapping activity is associated with a subset of the exosome proteins in vivo, implying a higher-order degradation complex consisting of exoribonucleases and a decapping activity, which together coordinate the decay of an mRNA. These findings indicate that following deadenylation of mammal mRNA, degradation proceeds by a coupled 3' to 5' exoribonucleolytic activity and subsequent hydrolysis of the cap structure by a scavenger decapping activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Polyadenylated mRNA in Escherichia coli: modulation of poly(A) RNA levels by polynucleotide phosphorylase and ribonuclease II.

The effect of 3'-exoribonucleases on the polyadenylation of mRNA in Escherichia coli was studied by comparing the synthesis and levels of poly(A) RNA in wild-type E coli and mutant strains defective in the two major 3'-exoribonucleases: polynucleotide phosphorylase and ribonuclease II. Mutations which substantially reduced the activity of these 3'-exonucleases caused a 10-fold increase in pulse-labeling of total poly(A) RNA in intact cells. When the net rate of RNA synthesis was measured in permeabilized cells, the mutant with defective 3'-exonucleases showed 20- to 60-fold increased synthesis of total poly(A) RNA as well as of specific polyadenylated mRNAs, with less than two-fold changes in non-poly(A) RNA. Measurement of mRNA polyadenylation in permeable cells under conditions when 3'-exoribonucleases were inactive showed a 6-fold higher rate of poly(A) synthesis in the exonuclease-deficient mutant strain, suggesting a higher concentration of mRNA 3'-ends amenable to polyadenylation. Steady-state levels of poly(A) RNA, measured by the ability to serve as template for oligo(dT)-dependent complementary DNA synthesis, also increased more than 40-fold when the 3'-exonucleases were inactivated. Monitoring of the length of the poly(A) tracts by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed chain lengths of up to 45 residues in the 3'-exonuclease-deficient mutant, whereas most of the poly(A) tracts in the parent strain were shorter than 12 residues. These results show that 3'-exonucleases reduce the level of polyadenylated mRNA in E coli not merely by causing its degradation but also by reducing its rate of synthesis, presumably by competing with poly(A) polymerase for the 3'-ends of mRNA.

Cell Membrane Permeability↗
PubMed2005

A single mutation in Escherichia coli ribonuclease II inactivates the enzyme without affecting RNA binding.

Exoribonuclease II (RNase II), encoded by the rnb gene, is a ubiquitous enzyme that is responsible for 90% of the hydrolytic activity in Escherichia coli crude extracts. The E. coli strain SK4803, carrying the mutant allele rnb296, has been widely used in the study of the role of RNase II. We determined the DNA sequence of rnb296 and cloned this mutant gene in an expression vector. Only a point mutation in the coding sequence of the gene was detected, which results in the single substitution of aspartate 209 for asparagine. The mutant and the wild-type RNase II enzymes were purified, and their 3' to 5' exoribonucleolytic activity, as well as their RNA binding capability, were characterized. We also studied the metal dependency of the exoribonuclease activity of RNase II. The results obtained demonstrated that aspartate 209 is absolutely essential for RNA hydrolysis, but is not required for substrate binding. This is the first evidence of an acidic residue that is essential for the activity of RNase II-like enzymes. The possible involvement of this residue in metal binding at the active site of the enzyme is discussed. These results are particularly relevant at this time given that no structural or mutational analysis has been performed for any protein of the RNR family of exoribonucleases.

Cloning, Molecular↗