J Biol Chem, Vol. 274, Issue 49, 34955-34960, December 3, 1999
Characterization of the Adenylation Site in the RNA 3'-Terminal
Phosphate Cyclase from Escherichia coli
Eric
Billy,
Daniel
Hess,
Jan
Hofsteenge, and
Witold
Filipowicz
From the Friedrich Miescher-Institut,
CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
RNA 3'-terminal phosphate cyclases are a family
of evolutionarily conserved enzymes that catalyze
ATP-dependent conversion of the 3'-phosphate to the
2',3'-cyclic phosphodiester at the end of RNA. The precise function of
cyclases is not known, but they may be responsible for generating or
regenerating cyclic phosphate RNA ends required by eukaryotic and
prokaryotic RNA ligases. Previous work carried out with human and
Escherichia coli enzymes demonstrated that the initial step
of the cyclization reaction involves adenylation of the protein. The
AMP group is then transferred to the 3'-phosphate in RNA, yielding an
RNA-N3'pp5'A (N is any nucleoside)
intermediate, which finally undergoes cyclization. In this work, by
using different protease digestions and mass spectrometry, we assign
the site of adenylation in the E. coli cyclase to His-309.
This histidine is conserved in all members of the class I subfamily of
cyclases identified by phylogenetic analysis. Replacement of His-309
with asparagine or alanine abrogates both enzyme-adenylate formation
and cyclization of the 3'-terminal phosphate in a model RNA substrate.
The cyclase is the only known protein undergoing adenylation on a
histidine residue. Sequences flanking the adenylated histidine in
cyclases do not resemble those found in other proteins modified by nucleotidylation.
Copyright © 1999 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.