Abstract
In contrast to the diversity of most ribosomal RNA modification patterns and systems, the KsgA methyltransferase family seems to be nearly universally conserved along with the modifications it catalyzes. Our data reveal that KsgA interacts with small ribosomal subunits near functional sites, including Initiation factor 3 and 50S subunit binding sites. These findings suggest a checkpoint role for this modification system and offer a functional rationale for the unprecedented level of conservation.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Accession codes
References
Van Knippenberg, P.H., Van Kimmenade, J.M. & Heus, H.A. Nucleic Acids Res. 12, 2595–2604 (1984).
Noon, K.R., Bruenger, E. & McCloskey, J.A. J. Bacteriol. 180, 2883–2888 (1998).
Van Buul, C.P., Hamersma, M., Visser, W. & Van Knippenberg, P.H. Nucleic Acids Res. 12, 9205–9208 (1984).
Klootwijk, J., Klein, I. & Grivell, L.A. J. Mol. Biol. 97, 337–350 (1975).
Helser, T.L., Davies, J.E. & Dahlberg, J.E. Nat. New Biol. 235, 6–9 (1972).
Desai, P.M. & Rife, J.P. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 449, 57–63 (2006).
O'Farrell, H.C., Scarsdale, J.N. & Rife, J.P. J. Mol. Biol. 339, 337–353 (2004).
Schuwirth, B.S. et al. Science 310, 827–834 (2005).
Culver, G.M. & Noller, H.F. Methods Enzymol. 318, 461–475 (2000).
Moazed, D., Van Stolk, B.J., Douthwaite, S. & Noller, H.F. J. Mol. Biol. 191, 483–493 (1986).
Dallas, A. & Noller, H.F. Mol. Cell 8, 855–864 (2001).
Merryman, C., Moazed, D., McWhirter, J. & Noller, H.F. J. Mol. Biol. 285, 97–105 (1999).
Poldermans, B., Goosen, N. & Van Knippenberg, P.H. J. Biol. Chem. 254, 9085–9089 (1979).
Lafontaine, D., Vandenhaute, J. & Tollervey, D. Genes Dev. 9, 2470–2481 (1995).
Lafontaine, D.L., Preiss, T. & Tollervey, D. Mol. Cell. Biol. 18, 2360–2370 (1998).
O'Farrell, H.C., Pulicherla, N., Desai, P.M. & Rife, J.P. RNA 12, 725–733 (2006).
Lomakin, I.B., Shirokikh, N.E., Yusupov, M.M., Hellen, C.U. & Pestova, T.V. EMBO J. 25, 196–210 (2006).
Cannone, J.J. et al. BMC Bioinformatics 3, 2 (2002).
Acknowledgements
We thank E. Phizicky and the members of the Rife and Culver laboratories for comments on the manuscript. We thank H. Noller (University of California, Santa Cruz, USA) for supplying the IF3 plasmid. This work was supported by the US National Institute of Health grants GM066900 to J.P.R. and GM62432 to G.M.C.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Z.X. designed and performed experiments; H.C.O. purified KsgA proteins; J.P.R. docked KsgA on 30S subunits; G.M.C. supervised the experiments. All authors discussed results and contributed to the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Supplementary information
Supplementary Text and Figures
Supplementary Figures 1 and 2, Supplementary Table 1 and Supplementary Methods (PDF 2933 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Xu, Z., O'Farrell, H., Rife, J. et al. A conserved rRNA methyltransferase regulates ribosome biogenesis. Nat Struct Mol Biol 15, 534–536 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.1408
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.1408