|
Volume 271,
Number 13,
Issue of March 29, 1996 pp. 7429-7434
©1996 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.
The
Accessibility of Yeast Ribosomal Protein L1 as Probed by Proteolysis
and Site-directed Mutagenesis Is Different in Intact 60 and 80 S
Ribosome (*)
(Received for publication, July 24, 1995; and in revised form, November 28, 1995 )
John C.
Lee (§),
,
Cynthia L.
Turgeon
,
Lee-Chuan
C.
Yeh
From the Department of Biochemistry, The University of Texas Health Science
Center, San Antonio, Texas 78284
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
FOOTNOTES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
REFERENCES
ABSTRACT
Accessible regions of protein L1 in intact 60 and 80 S ribosomes
from Saccharomyces cerevisiae were first detected by
controlled proteolysis. The N-terminal region of L1 in either 60 S or
80 S particles, was inaccessible to proteases, but the central and
C-terminal regions were accessible. The accessibility of the central
region differed depending on the ribosome state. These regions were
further examined by determination of the chemical reactivity of
specific cysteine residues introduced into these regions by
site-directed mutagenesis. All cysteine mutant proteins were capable of
binding yeast 5 S rRNA in vitro and the ribosomes containing
the mutant proteins were functional in vivo. Residues Cys-257
and Cys-275 were modified in both the 60 and 80 S ribosomes but the
modification rates were different in the two ribosome states. Both
residues Cys-62 and Cys-286 were inaccessible in 80 S or 60 S
ribosomes. Taken together, the present study identified several
accessible regions of L1 in intact ribosomes and further showed that
the accessibility of some of the regions was altered upon ribosomal
subunit association. The most likely interpretation of these results is
that the conformation of the ribosomal protein L1 was altered upon
ribosomal subunit association.
INTRODUCTION
Changes in the conformation of the Escherichia coli and
eukaryotic ribosome as it binds ligands and participates in protein
biosynthesis have been detected. Specific ribosomal proteins and RNA
regions that are involved in these changes have also been identified (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) .
For example, base modification studies have identified specific
nucleotides in the 5.8, 18, and 28 S rRNA species of mouse Ehrlich
ascites cells that are affected upon ribosomal subunit association (10) . Tritium exchange experiments showed that the yeast
ribosomes exhibit different global conformation as they participate in
protein synthesis(11) . However, identification of the
ribosomal components that participate in these conformational changes
is lacking. Previous studies revealed that the chemical reactivity of
specific SH groups on yeast proteins L7 and L26 was altered upon
ribosomal subunit interactions, suggesting that the structure and/or
environment of these proteins is sensitive to ribosome subunit
association(12) . 5 S rRNA and its binding protein(s) form a
functional domain in the eukaryotic ribosome. Chemical cross-linking
studies suggest that the RNA-protein complex is located at the
ribosomal subunit interface and participates either directly in the
initiation and elongation reactions of protein synthesis or is located
in the vicinity of other ribosomal components participating in these
reactions(13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19) .
However, little is known about the structural arrangement of the 5 S
rRNA-binding protein in the intact ribosome. It is also not known
whether the structural organization of the protein or its environment
undergoes changes as the eukaryotic ribosome participates in the
different stages of protein synthesis. Controlled proteolytic
digestion has been widely used as a probe for studying protein
structure-function relationships (see (20) for review)
including prokaryotic ribosome
structure(21, 22, 23, 24, 25) .
Results obtained by this approach agree reasonably well with data
obtained by other experimental techniques, such as RNA-protein and
protein-protein cross-linking(26, 27) , immunoelectron
microscopy (28, 29) , and neutron
scattering(30, 31) . The aim of the present study
is to examine the structural arrangement of the yeast 5 S rRNA-binding
protein L1 in the intact 60 and 80 S ribosome. Two experimental
approaches were used: (i) controlled proteolytic digestion of intact
ribosome, followed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western
blot analysis with specific anti-HA antibody to analyze the fate of
protein L1; (ii) monitoring the chemical reactivity of specific
sulfhydryl groups introduced, by site-directed mutagenesis, into the
C-terminal region of the L1 molecule.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Materials and Yeast StrainsAll chemicals were
reagent grade. 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein (IAF) ( )was
purchased from Molecular Probes, Inc., OR. Chymotrypsin and
endoproteinase Glu-C (V8 protease) were purchased from Sigma. L-1-Tosylamido-2-phenylethyl chloromethyl ketone-treated
trypsin was from Worthington. Phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride and p-nitrophenyl-p-guanidinobenzoate were purchased from
Sigma. The yeast strain LY1191 (MAT ura3-52 trp1- 101 lys2-801 leu2- 1 his3- 200 rpl1- 1::TRP1 +
pRS315-RPL1-HA) was used for the controlled proteolysis
studies. LY1191 was derived from JWY3707 in which the genomic copy of RPL1 was disrupted(32) . Plasmid pRS315-RPL1-HA contained an epitope-tagged allele of the RPL1 gene with
a nucleotide sequence coding for the 9-amino acid hemagglutinin (HA)
epitope inserted between codons 8 and 9(33) .
Preparation and Proteolytic Digestion of 80 and 60 S
RibosomesYeast cells (LY1191) were grown in YEPD at 30 °C
to mid-log phase and harvested immediately following addition of
cycloheximide (5 mg/100 ml of medium). After washing, cells were broken
by vortexing with glass beads in buffer A (10 mM Tris-HCl, pH
7.4, 100 mM NaCl, 30 mM MgCl , 0.2
µl/ml diethyl pyrocarbonate, and 200 µg/ml heparin). Ribosomes
were collected by high speed centrifugation, dissolved in buffer B (50
mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.7, 8 mM MgCl , 650
mM KCl, 1 mM dithiothreitol, and 0.1 mM EDTA), pelleted and dissolved in buffer C (50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.7, 8 mM MgCl , 50 mM KCl, 1 mM dithiothreitol, and 0.1 mM EDTA) to
reform 80 S particles. 60 S subunits were purified by gradient
centrifugation in high salt buffer B as described (12) .
Ribosome samples were analyzed by analytical gradient centrifugation to
confirm that they were 80 S or 60 S particles. Ribosomes (8 A /100 µl of buffer C) were digested with
varying concentrations of chymotrypsin, trypsin, or V8 at 25 °C for
the duration indicated. Reactions were stopped by the addition of p-nitrophenyl-p-guanidinobenzoate (final
concentration 0.1 mM for trypsin) or phenylmethylsulfonyl
fluoride (10 mM for chymotrypsin and V8) and analyzed
immediately as described below.
Analysis of Digestion Products by Gel Electrophoresis and
Western Blot AnalysisDigested ribosomes were mixed with Laemmli
sample buffer, boiled for 3 min, and loaded onto SDS-containing
polyacrylamide gels. After electrophoresis, the digested peptides were
transferred to nitrocellulose membrane (Schleicher & Schuell).
Protein L1 and its N-terminal fragments were detected by Western
analysis using the anti-HA epitope 12CA5 mouse monoclonal antibody
(Berkeley Antibody Co.). The molecular weight of the products was
determined using a fluorescent, mid-range molecular weight protein
standard (Diversified Biotechnology) containing phosphorylase b, bovine serum albumin, alcohol dehydrogenase, carbonic
anhydrase, trypsin inhibitor, and lysozyme (95, 68, 39, 29, 20.4, and
14 kDa, respectively).
Substitution of Amino Acids with Cysteine in L1 by
Site-directed MutagenesisSpecific mutations were introduced
into the RPL1 gene cloned in pRS315-RPL1-HA using
polymerase chain reaction(32) . The following mutagenic primers
were used for generating the mutants E257C, T275C, and V286C:
5`-AAGCCAACTTGCAAGAAATTCACC-3`,
5`-TACAGACAATGCAAATTGTCC-3`, and
5`-GCTGCTCGTTGTGCTGCCAAG-3`, respectively. In each case, the
sequence of the entire RPL1 gene was determined to ensure that
it contained only the desired mutation. The resultant mutant plasmid
was shuffled into yeast strain JWY3707 and selected first on
C-Ura-Leu+Gal plates and then on 5-fluoroorotic acid-containing
plates. The yeast strains harboring the mutations E257C, T275C, and
V286C in protein L1 were named LY257C, LY275C, and LY286C,
respectively. The genotypes were MAT ura3-52 trp1- 101 lys2-801 leu2- 1 his3- 200 rpl1- 1::TRP1 +
pRS315-rpl1-HA-257C, MAT ura3-52 trp1- 101 lys2-801 leu2- 1 his3- 200 rpl1- 1::TRP1 +
pRS315-rpl1-HA-275C, and MAT ura3-52 trp1- 101 lys2-801 leu2- 1 his3- 200 rpl1- 1::TRP1 +
pRS315-rpl1-HA-286C, respectively.
Chemical Modification of Intact 60 S Subunits and 80 S
Ribosomes with IAFRibosomes (100 A /ml)
were labeled with 1 mM IAF at 0 °C for 2 h in the dark as
described previously (12) with the following modifications. The
labeling reaction was stopped by the addition of cysteine to a final
concentration of 10 mM. The labeled ribosomes were purified by
chromatography on a Sephadex G-25 column. Fractions containing the
labeled ribosomes were pooled and subjected to centrifugation at 55,000
rpm for 2 h at 4 °C in a 75Ti rotor through a sucrose cushion
containing 10% sucrose, 5% ammonium sulfate, 50 mM Tris
acetate, pH 7.4, 50 mM ammonium chloride, and 12 mM MgCl . Labeled proteins were analyzed by
electrophoresis on SDS-polyacrylamide gels, transferred to
nitrocellulose membrane, and detected under UV lights. The identity of
the labeled mutant protein L1 was further confirmed by its reactivity
with the anti-HA antibody.
Analysis of CNBr FragmentsTotal 80 S ribosomal
proteins were resolved on SDS-polyacrylamide gels. The IAF-labeled L1
was visualized under the UV light after electrophoresis, excised from
the gel, and eluted with 50 mM ammonium bicarbonate, pH 7.8,
containing 0.1% SDS. The eluates were concentrated using an
Ultrafree-MC microconcentrator (Amicon, Inc.). The protein was
recovered by acetone precipitation and dissolved in 70% formic acid
containing 10 mg/ml freshly prepared CNBr. After incubation for 18 h at
room temperature, the reaction mixture was dried under a stream of
nitrogen. The dried digest was dissolved in Laemmli sample buffer and
analyzed on SDS-polyacrylamide gels as described above. The pattern of
CNBr fragments was first viewed under UV lights and then stained with
Coomassie Brilliant Blue R250.
RESULTS
Saccharomyces cerevisiae ribosomes containing the
HA-tagged ribosomal protein L1 were digested with three different
proteolytic enzymes under controlled conditions as described under
``Experimental Procedures.'' The fate of protein L1 in either
80 S or 60 S ribosomes was followed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel
electrophoresis and immunoblotting using a specific monoclonal anti-HA
antibody. Since the tagged epitope (HA) is inserted between amino acids
8 and 9 of protein L1 and the antibody in use is directed toward the HA
epitope, only those peptide fragments containing the N-terminal region
of L1 would be detected by the present approach. Control experiments in
which the enzyme was incubated with the enzyme inhibitor and boiled
prior to addition of ribosomes showed that the arresting condition used
was sufficient to stop the protease. Fig. 1A shows a
typical Western analysis of chymotryptic digests of the 60 S subunits.
Three immunoreactive protein L1 fragments (F1, F2, and F3 with
estimated molecular masses of 20, 16.5, and 15 kDa, respectively) were
observed. The reaction conditions were chosen so that the digestion was
incomplete in order to observe primary cleavages instead of secondary
cleavages. L1 was completely digested by higher concentrations of
enzymes (data not shown). Occasionally, several minor,
immunocross-reactive species, such as those migrating slightly faster
than the parent L1, were detected on these membranes. These species
were present in the time zero undigested samples and were not
considered further. Fig. 2shows that the digestion patterns
followed a time-dependent progression of cleavage. A possible cleavage
pathway appeared to be as follows: 34 kDa (L1) 20 kDa
16.5 kDa 15 kDa.
Figure 1:
Western analysis of
protein L1 fragments produced by digestion of 60 S (A) or 80 S (B) ribosomes from S. cerevisiae by chymotrypsin.
Ribosomes were digested for the designated time at 25 °C.
Phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride was added to the reaction mixture which
was boiled and analyzed on a SDS-containing polyacrylamide gel. After
transfer, positions of the fluorescent molecular weight standards were
marked. Protein L1 and derived N-terminal fragments were detected by
reaction with anti-HA epitope 12CA5 mouse monoclonal antibody. The
position of the full-length protein L1 (L1) and the N-terminal
fragments (the 20-kDa F1, the 16.5-kDa F2, and the 15-kDa F3) are
denoted on the right side of the figure. Lane 1,
undigested control sample; lanes 2-7, samples digested
for 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, and 120 min. Molecular weights of the
fluorescent standards are marked by arrowheads on the left side of the figure.
Figure 2:
Time dependence of the appearance of
chymotryptic peptide fragments of protein L1. The band intensity of
each fragment on the Western blot (Fig. 1) was determined using
the BioImage Visage 110. The intensity of each band was expressed as a
percent of the total of all bands at each time point and plotted as a
function of time of digestion (n = 4). The means were
plotted. The relative intensity of the parent L1 band is not
shown.
To assess the effect of 40 S binding on these
accessible regions of protein L1 in the 60 S subunit, 80 S ribosomes
were digested by chymotrypsin. As shown in Fig. 1B, no
immunoreactive fragments of L1 were detectable in the digest of the 80
S ribosome. Similar results were observed when 80 S ribosomes were
digested at a higher concentration of chymotrypsin. Hence, the primary
chymotryptic cleavage site (cleavage at which resulted in the 20-kDa
fragment) on protein L1 in the 60 S subunit became inaccessible upon
binding with the 40 S subunit. Whereas tryptic digest of the 60 S
subunits produced two immunoreactive L1 fragments (F1 and F2),
digestion of 80 S ribosomes produced three fragments (F1, F2, and F3) (Fig. 3, A and B). The estimated molecular
masses of F1 and F2 from the 60 S digest are 32 and 30 kDa,
respectively. F1, F2, and F3 from the 80 S digest are 32, 31, and 30
kDa, respectively. Although there were numerous potential trypsin
cleavage sites scattered throughout the protein L1 molecule, only a few
were cleaved by trypsin under the current experimental conditions.
These sites are located near the C-terminal region of L1. Higher
concentrations (up to 3-fold) of trypsin did not result in new
cleavages. Fig. 4shows the kinetics of appearance of the
tryptic fragments. It appeared that both the 32-kDa and the 30-kDa
fragments from the 60 S subunits were generated about the same time.
Both cleavage sites in L1 in the 60 S subunit were almost equally
accessible to trypsin. On the other hand, digestion of protein L1 in
the 80 S ribosome showed a different time-dependent progression, i.e. 34 kDa (L1) 32 kDa 31 kDa 30 kDa.
Thus, the 31-kDa fragment was a unique digestion product of protein L1
in the 80 S ribosome.
Figure 3:
Western analysis of tryptic digests of
protein L1 in 60 S (A) or 80 S (B) ribosomes.
Conditions were similar to those described in the legend of Fig. 1. The estimated molecular mass values for F1 and F2 in panel A are 32 and 30 kDa, respectively. Those for F1-F3
in panel B are 32, 31, and 30 kDa,
respectively.
Figure 4:
Kinetics of appearance of tryptic peptides
of protein L1 from 60 S (A) and 80 S (B). The band
intensity of each fragment on the membrane was measured and expressed
as a percent of the total of all the band intensity at each time point.
Each point represents the mean of n =
4.
Fig. 5shows a typical Western analysis
of peptides from V8 protease digestion of 60 S or 80 S ribosomes.
Several nonspecific bands appeared in the undigested control as well as
in the experimental samples. These bands were not considered further.
Although there were numerous potentially susceptible cleavage sites in
protein L1, only one was accessible in either 60 S (Fig. 5A) or 80 S (Fig. 5B) particles
under the present experimental conditions. Unlike the results of
tryptic and chymotryptic digestions, which showed that the cleavages
occurred near the C terminus, V8 digestion of the ribosomes resulted in
a single cleavage near the middle of the protein producing a 17-kDa
fragment. The intensity of the 17-kDa fragment increased with time of
digestion. However, a comparison of the kinetics of appearance of the
17-kDa fragment revealed that the particular cleavage of L1 occurred
more readily in the 80 S particle than in the 60 S subunit (Fig. 6). The observation suggested that the environment or the
structure at or near this cleavage site in protein L1 had undergone a
significant change, making it more susceptible to V8 in the 80 S than
in the 60 S subunits.
Figure 5:
Western
analysis of V8 protease digest of 60 S (A) or 80 S (B) ribosomes. Conditions were similar to those described in
the legend of Fig. 1. The estimated molecular mass for F1 in
both panels A and B is 17 kDa. Minor bands that were
also present in the control samples were not considered
further.
Figure 6:
Kinetics of appearance of the V8 peptide
fragments of protein L1 from 60 S (A) and 80 S (B).
Each point represents the mean of n =
4.
The accessibility of the different L1 regions
in the intact ribosome was also probed by measuring the chemical
reactivity of specific cysteine residues in L1. The only cysteine at
residue 62 in the wild-type protein L1, was not available to react with
IAF in either the 60 S subunit or the 80 S ribosome (Fig. 7A, lanes 1 and 2). The residue
remained unavailable to IAF modifications when the 60 S subunit was
subjected to unfolding conditions at 2 or 4 mM MgCl (data not shown). As shown previously, proteins L7 and L26 were
the predominantly IAF-labeled proteins in the 80 S
ribosome(12) .
Figure 7:
IAF
labeling of 60 and 80 S ribosomes. A, IAF-labeled total
ribosomal proteins were analyzed on SDS-containing polyacrylamide gels,
transferred onto membranes, and viewed under a UV light to reveal the
fluorescent bands. Positions of the labeled proteins were marked on the
membrane with a needle prior to probing with the anti-HA antibody.
Positions of L1, L7, and L26 are indicated on the left side of
the figure. B, Western analysis of the blot in A with
anti-HA antibody showing that the IAF-labeled 34-kDa protein was L1. Lanes 1 and 2, 80 S and 60 S from wild-type, LY1191
yeast strain; lanes 3 and 4, 80 S and 60 S from
mutant strain LY257C; lanes 5 and 6, 80 S and 60 S
from mutant strain LY275C; lane 7, protein standards with the
molecular weights indicated on the right side of the
figure.
The proteolysis data revealed that the
structure or the environment of several L1 regions was dynamic and
could undergo changes when ribosomal subunits interact. To determine
whether the cysteine labeling approach might be useful in refining the
results obtained by controlled proteolysis, several mutant L1 proteins
were generated by site-directed mutagenesis. Mutant L1 proteins (E257C,
T275C, or V286C) with a single cysteine substitution at position 257,
275, or 286, respectively, were produced. These mutant proteins were
capable to bind 5 S rRNA as well as the wild-type (data not shown) in
the in vitro system (34) . The mutant proteins were
incorporated into the 60 S subunits as shown by Western analysis of
total ribosomal proteins. Moreover, yeast strains (LY257C, LY275C, and
LY286C) expressing these mutant proteins were viable. Their growth
rates were indistinguishable from that of the wild-type (data not
shown). These in vitro and in vivo data strongly
suggest that ribosomes containing these mutant protein L1 were either
unaltered or only minimally disrupted structurally. Purified 80 S or
60 S ribosomes were obtained from each mutant yeast strain and
subjected to IAF labeling. Fig. 7A shows the
fluorescence patterns of the IAF-tagged proteins from 60 S or 80 S
ribosomes as analyzed on SDS-polyacrylamide gels. In addition to L7 and
L26, which were labeled in the wild type 80 S ribosomes, a protein with
a molecular mass of 34 kDa was labeled with IAF in ribosomes from the
yeast strains LY257C (lanes 3 and 4) and LY275C (lanes 5 and 6). That the 34-kDa protein in both
yeast mutants was indeed protein L1 was confirmed by Western blot
analysis (Fig. 7B). Residue Cys-257 was labeled in
the 60 and 80 S ribosomes. However, kinetic labeling studies showed
that the residue in the 60 S subunit reacted with IAF slightly faster
than that in the 80 S ribosome. Residue Cys-275 in the mutant protein
L1 reacted with IAF in both the 60 and 80 S particles, and it reacted
more rapidly in the 80 S ribosome than in the 60 S particle. These
observations suggested that residue Cys-257 might be more exposed in
the 60 S subunit than in the 80 S ribosome and that residue Cys-275
became more exposed in the 80 S than in the 60 S. Residue Cys-286 in
protein L1 in either the 60 S or the 80 S particle could not be labeled
with IAF. To check that the single cysteine substitution at residue
257 or 275 had not affected the reactivity of Cys-62, the IAF-labeled
mutant proteins (E257C or T275C) were isolated from the SDS-containing
polyacrylamide gels and subjected to CNBr cleavages. Two peptide
fragments (24 and 10 kDa) were produced in both mutant proteins. Only
the 10-kDa fragment was fluorescently labeled (Fig. 8, lanes
1 and 2). Since protein L1 contains only one methionine
residue at position 208, CNBr treatment of L1 should produce a 24-kDa
fragment containing the N-terminal region of L1 and a 10-kDa fragment
containing the C-terminal region. The observation thus implied that
Cys-62 was not labeled and the labeled residue in the mutant protein
E257C or T275C was 257 or 275, respectively.
Figure 8:
CNBr
digestion of IAF-labeled protein L1. Ribosomes containing mutant
protein E257C or T275C were labeled with IAF under described
conditions. Total ribosomal proteins were analyzed on SDS-containing
polyacrylamide gels. The fluorescent L1 band was excised from the gel,
recovered and treated with CNBr. The reaction mixture was analyzed on
SDS-polyacrylamide gels. The gel was photographed under a UV light. Lane 1, mutant L1 with E257C substitution; lane 2,
mutant L1 with T275C substitution; lane 3, fluorescent
molecular weight standards. denotes the residual mutant L1;
 denotes the fluorescent 10-kDa CNBr-digested
fragment.
DISCUSSION
In the present study, the accessible regions of the yeast
ribosomal protein L1 in intact ribosomes were probed. The combination
of controlled proteolysis and subsequent immunoblotting facilitated
examination of the topography and topographical changes of a specific
tagged protein among the many proteins and RNA species in the ribosome
complex. Protein L1 in intact 60 S ribosomal subunits was relatively
resistant to proteolysis with only a few accessible regions. The N
terminus of protein L1 in the 60 S subunit was not cleaved, but the
middle and the C-terminal region of the protein were available for
cleavages. Chemical modifications also suggested that the N-terminal
region of L1, and particularly the Cys-62 residue, in both the 60 and
80 S particles was not exposed. Results of the unfolding experiments by
exposing the ribosome to lower magnesium concentrations also suggested
that the N terminus is buried in the ribosome. The data agreed with an
earlier study that the N-terminal L1 region in the 60 S subunit or the
80 S ribosome was not accessible to a monoclonal antibody(33) .
By comparison, in the isolated 5 S rRNA-L1 protein (RNP) complex, the
first 20 amino acids of L1 and the C-terminal region were accessible to
chymotrypsin and trypsin, respectively(35) . In the E.
coli ribosome, three proteins (EcoL5, EcoL18, and EcoL25) bind 5 S
rRNA. The 5 S rRNA-protein complex lies in the central protuberance of
the 50 S ribosomal subunit. Proteolytic digestion of the E. coli ribosomes with endoproteinases Lys-C, Glu-C, chymotrypsin, and
trypsin showed that EcoL18 and EcoL25 were protected but EcoL5 was
accessible to proteases(22) . The N-terminal region of EcoL18
in the intact E. coli ribosome was not accessible to protease,
but in the isolated complex the region was readily accessible to
trypsin(36) . The N-terminal regions of the EcoL18 and yeast
protein L1 contain an unusually high number of basic amino acids and
show some degree of homology(37, 38) . Although the
exact function of the N-terminal region of the 5 S rRNA-binding protein
is unknown at the present, studies on the E. coli ribosome
suggest that the N-terminal region of EcoL18 may be involved in an
interaction with the 23 S rRNA molecule holding the 5 S rRNA-protein
complex to the ribosome (36, 37) . Experiments are in
progress to determine the function of the N terminus of the yeast
ribosomal protein L1. In E. coli, there appears to be a
positive correlation between the order of assembly of ribosomal
proteins and their susceptibility to proteolysis and their ease of
removal with high concentration of salt. Most proteins that are
essential for in vitro early assembly are inaccessible to
proteolysis(22) . Conversely, proteins that have extended
surface domains and are accessible to proteases are late assembly
proteins. A similar correlation has been suggested for the yeast
ribosome(39) . Yeast protein L1 can be removed from intact
ribosomes with a relatively low concentration of ammonium
chloride(40) . These data collectively would suggest that
protein L1 might be a late assembly protein. Published data indicate
that in mammalian cells and Xenopus oocytes, L5, the homolog
of yeast L1, forms a stable complex with 5 S rRNA prior to assembly
into ribosomal subunits(41, 42, 43) . Were
binding of yeast ribosomal protein L1 to 5 S rRNA also a prerequisite
for assembly into 60 S subunits, the present results would suggest that
the RNA-protein complex is assembled into the 60 S subunit at a late
stage of ribosome biogenesis. Binding of 40 S subunits to the 60 S
subunits has been shown to result in a conformational change in the
yeast ribosome(11, 12) . The present study revealed
that ribosomal subunit association affected the accessibility of
several regions in protein L1. Notably, the middle of the protein
molecule became accessible upon dissociation of the 80 S ribosome to
its 60 and 40 S subunits. One possible explanation of the observation
is that this region of L1 was involved directly in the interaction with
the 40 S subunits and was protected from proteolysis by the physical
presence of the 40 S subunit. Alternatively, the region had undergone a
structural alteration resulting in a shielding of the region from
proteolysis. The current results could not distinguish between these
two possibilities at present. That the Cys-257 was modified slower in
the 80 S than in the 60 S subunit would suggest that the structure of
L1 at or surrounding Cys-257 residue was tightened in the 80 S ribosome
compared to that in the 60 S. Our data also suggest that the
Cys-275-containing region appeared to be more hindered in the 60 S than
in the 80 S ribosome. Furthermore, the higher relative fluorescence
intensity of the IAF-labeled L1 with Cys-257 compared to that of L1
with Cys-275 implied that the former was more exposed and the latter
was only partially exposed. The amino acid replacement studies
indicated that residues Glu-257, Thr-275, or Val-286 could be replaced
by a cysteine residue without affecting protein function to any
detectable extent. The result of the E257C mutant was somewhat
surprising in view of the nature of the substitution (replacing a
negative charged side chain with a neutral one). On the other hand, a
proline residue is found at this position in all the other known
eukaryotic 5 S rRNA-binding proteins. Theoretical predictions of the
secondary structure of protein L1 indicate that the residue has a very
high probability to be located in a loop region. The other two
substitutions were of a more conservative nature and were not expected
to cause a major structural disruption. Residue Thr-275 is not
conserved, whereas Val-286 is highly conserved among the known
eukaryotic 5 S rRNA-binding proteins. In conclusion, our results
indicated that the N terminus of protein L1 was not accessible in both
the 60 S subunit and the 80 S ribosome. The C-terminal region, a region
that is partly involved in 5 S rRNA binding, was readily accessible. A
central segment of L1 appeared to be dynamic and was readily accessible
in the 60 S subunit but became inaccessible in the 80 S. The
observation is in agreement with the notion that the ribosome is a
highly flexible structure with dynamic properties that are
prerequisites for function. The described method of combined
proteolysis and site-directed mutagenesis and specific labeling has
been a powerful tool for probing the structural arrangement of protein
L1 in intact ribosomes. The approach has been also useful in monitoring
changes in specific regions of L1 as the ribosome participates in the
different stages of protein synthesis. This experimental approach may
also be useful in mapping structures of a protein in other complex
structures.
FOOTNOTES
- *
- This work was supported by National
Institutes of Health Grant GM-35851 (to J. C. L.). The costs of
publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of
page charges. This article must therefore by hereby marked
``advertisement'' in accordance with 18 U.S.C.
Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
- §
- To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Tel.: 210-567-3777; Fax: 210-567-6595.
- (
) - The
abbreviations used are: IAF, 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein; HA,
hemagglutinin.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank Helen Hoffer for technical assistance in the
labeling experiments.
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