Archaeal Ribosomal Stalk Protein Interacts with Translation Factors in a Nucleotide-Independent Manner Via Its Conserved C Terminus
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Archaeal ribosomal stalk protein interacts with translation factors in a nucleotide-independent manner via its conserved C terminus Naoko Nomuraa, Takayoshi Hondab, Kentaro Babab, Takao Naganumaa,b, Takehito Tanzawaa, Fumio Arisakac, Masanori Nodad, Susumu Uchiyamad, Isao Tanakaa, Min Yaoa,1, and Toshio Uchiumib,1 aFaculty of Advanced Life Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Kita-10, Nishi-8, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan; bDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Science, Niigata University, Ikarashi 2-8050, Nishi-ku, Niigata 950-2181, Japan; cGraduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midoriku, Yokohama 226-8501, Japan; and dDepartment of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan Edited by Harry F. Noller, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, and approved January 9, 2012 (received for review August 10, 2011) Protein synthesis on the ribosome requires translational GTPase ible hinge region and has a wide range of movement (7, 13). Re- factors to bind to the ribosome in the GTP-bound form, take indi- cently, cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) and X-ray crystallo- vidual actions that are coupled with GTP hydrolysis, and dissociate, graphic analyses have shown that, in the ribosome•elongation usually in the GDP-bound form. The multiple copies of the flexible factor G (EF-G) complex, the globular C-terminal domain of L12 ribosomal stalk protein play an important role in these processes. interacts directly with EF-G through the G′ domain, which is Using biochemical approaches and the stalk protein from a hyper- unique to EF-G (14–16). However, the interaction between L12 thermophilic archaeon, Pyrococcus horikoshii, we here provide evi- and EF-Tu and its contribution to GTP hydrolysis has not been dence that the conserved C terminus of the stalk protein aP1 binds clarified in the crystal structure of the ribosome•EF-Tu complex directly to domain I of the elongation factor aEF-2, irrespective of (17, 18). The analysis of NMR chemical shifts has demonstrated whether aEF-2 is bound to GTP or GDP. Site-directed mutagenesis the presence of interactions between the C-terminal domain of revealed that four hydrophobic amino acids at the C terminus of purified L12 and the translational GTPases EF-G, EF-Tu, initia- BIOCHEMISTRY aP1, Leu-100, 103, 106, and Phe-107, are crucial for the direct bind- tion factor 2 (IF2), and release factor 3 (RF3), which implies that ing. P1 was also found to bind to the initiation factor aIF5B, as well L12 interacts with a structural feature shared by these factors as aEF-1α, but not aIF2γ, via its C terminus. Moreover, analytical (19). The detailed mechanisms of the interactions and their con- ultracentrifugation and gel mobility shift analyses showed that a tributions to the functions of the factors remain unclear. ð Þ ð Þ ð Þ heptameric complex of aP1 and aP0, aP0 aP1 2 aP1 2 aP1 2, can The archaeal L12 (termed aP1 hereafter) and the eukaryotic bind multiple aEF-2 molecules simultaneously, which suggests that P1/P2 stalk proteins are related closely in terms of structure and individual copies of the stalk protein are accessible to the factor. function (20, 21). However, sequence comparisons and small-an- The functional significance of the C terminus of the stalk protein gle X-ray scattering analyses indicate that the archaeal/eukaryotic was also shown using the eukaryotic proteins P1/P2 and P0. It is stalk proteins are not related structurally to bacterial L12, and likely that the conserved C terminus of the stalk proteins of archaea might not be linked evolutionarily either (20). In fact, our recent and eukaryotes can bind to translation factors both before and crystal structure data showed that the mode of dimerization by after GTP hydrolysis. This consistent binding ability of the stalk pro- the N-terminal domain of archaeal aP1 and its binding to aP0 tein may contribute to maintaining high concentrations of transla- are completely different from those of bacterial L12 (9). Whereas tion factors around the ribosome, thus promoting translational the C-terminal domain (CTD) of bacterial L12 is a relatively large efficiency. globular structure that comprises 70 amino acids, the archaeal/ eukaryotic stalk proteins contain a unique and compact C-term- GTPase-associated center ∣ ribosome protein P0 ∣ ribosome protein P1 ∣ inal region that comprises only 20 amino acids (20). It is appar- hyperthermophilic archaeon ently impossible for this 20 amino acid C-terminal region to adopt a conformation that is similar to that of the CTD of the bacterial ajor dynamic steps in translational initiation, elongation, stalk protein. Therefore, even though the archaeal/eukaryotic Mand termination are promoted by the actions of several and bacterial stalk proteins play analogous roles in the GTPase- translational GTPase factors (1–3). During the elongation step, associated events on the ribosome, they show remarkable struc- two elongation factors bind alternately to the ribosome in their tural differences. Thus, to gain a complete understanding of the GTP-bound states. After they have carried out their respective ribosomal stalk, it is important to elucidate the structure-function functions, which are linked to GTP hydrolysis, they then dissoci- relationships in the archaeal/eukaryotic proteins as well as in ate from the ribosome. The large ribosomal subunit contains an their bacterial counterparts. active center, termed the GTPase-associated center or factor- The sequences of the C-terminal region of the stalk protein are binding center, which interacts with the elongation factors (4). highly conserved among archaea/eukaryotes; in particular, the The GTPase-associated center plays a crucial role in the recruit- Leu-Phe sequence at the C terminus is strictly conserved (Fig. S1). ment of translation factors, GTP hydrolysis, and the release of An additional characteristic feature of the archaeal/eukaryotic stalk inorganic phosphate, which is required for the subsequent disso- ciation of the factor. Multiple copies of the acidic ribosomal Author contributions: M.Y. and T.U. designed research; N.N., T.H., K.B., T.N., T.T., F.A., M.N., protein, or so-called stalk protein, are key components of this and S.U. performed research; F.A., S.U., I.T., M.Y., and T.U. analyzed data; and M.Y. and T.U. functional center (5–9). The stalk proteins form homo- or hetero- wrote the paper. dimers, and two or three dimers bind to the ribosome through an The authors declare no conflict of interest. – anchor protein, L10 in bacteria and P0 in eukaryotes (7, 9 12). This article is a PNAS Direct Submission. In the case of bacteria, the structure and function of the stalk 1To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: [email protected] or protein L7/L12 (termed L12 hereafter) is well established. The [email protected]. L12 protein is composed of an N-terminal dimerization domain This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/ and a globular C-terminal domain, which is connected by a flex- doi:10.1073/pnas.1112934109/-/DCSupplemental. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1112934109 PNAS Early Edition ∣ 1of6 Downloaded by guest on September 26, 2021 proteins is that the conserved C-terminal sequence is shared by not and the appearance of a distinct band with lower mobility than only all stalk proteins (aP1 and P1/P2) but also the anchor proteins that of free aEF-2 (Fig. 1 A and B, lanes 2–5). We confirmed that aP0 and P0 (20, 22). Although functional implications of the the shifted band with lower mobility was the aP1•aEF-2 complex C-terminal segments of eukaryotic P0/P1/P2 (23–25) and archaeal by removing this band from the gel and analyzing it by SDS- aP0/aP1 (9) have been reported, their exact role is not yet well un- PAGE and immunoblotting with an anti-aP1 antibody (Fig. S3 A derstood. Here we demonstrate the direct binding of the conserved and B). The complexes of aP1•aEF-2 with GDP (Fig. 1A) and C terminus of aP1 to elongation factors aEF-2 and aEF-1α,and GMPPCP (Fig. 1B) formed very similar patterns on the nonde- initiation factor aIF5B. Surprisingly, the P1 stalk protein showed a naturing gel, which suggested that aP1 binds to aEF-2•GDP and similar ability to bind to both the GTP- and GDP-bound forms of aEF-2•GMPPCP with more or less the same affinity. We also aEF-2, and the P0•P1 complex could bind multiple aEF-2 mole- confirmed that aP1 has a similar ability to bind to aEF-2 in the cules. These characteristics seem to be favorable for efficient trans- absence of any nucleotide as well as in the presence of GTP, lation. 5′-guanylyl imidodiphosphate, or guanosine 5′-O-[γ-thio]tripho- sphate (Fig. S4). Therefore, the binding of aP1 to aEF-2 seems Results to be nucleotide independent. Characteristics of Binding Between Archaeal aP1 and aEF-2. Using mass spectrometry under nondenaturing conditions, we first Structural Elements Involved in aP1•aEF-2 Binding. Considering pre- checked whether purified aEF-2 (with His tag) was free of asso- vious functional data on the archaeal/eukaryotic stalk (9, 23–25), ciated nucleotides (Fig. S2 A and D). The mass of the purified it can be inferred that the C-terminal portion of aP1 contains the 83;914 Æ 1 aEF-2 was determined to be Da, which is slightly site for aEF-2 binding. To confirm this functionality, nondenatur- larger than the calculated mass of aEF-2 on the basis of its amino ing gel analysis was performed after aP1 had been preincubated acid sequence (83,823 Da).