Abstract
Box C/D ribonucleoprotein complexes are RNA-guided methyltransferases that methylate the ribose 2'-OH of RNA. The central 'guide RNA' has box C and D motifs at its ends, which are crucial for activity. Archaeal guide RNAs have a second box C'/D' motif pair that is also essential for function. This second motif is poorly conserved in eukaryotes and its function is uncertain. Conflicting literature data report that eukaryotic box C'/D' motifs do or do not bind proteins specialized to recognize box C/D-motifs and are or are not important for function. Despite this uncertainty, the architecture of eukaryotic 2'-O-methylation enzymes is thought to be similar to that of their archaeal counterpart. Here, we use biochemistry, X-ray crystallography and mutant analysis to demonstrate the absence of functional box C'/D' motifs in more than 80% of yeast guide RNAs. We conclude that eukaryotic Box C/D RNPs have two non-symmetric protein assembly sites and that their three-dimensional architecture differs from that of archaeal 2'-O-methylation enzymes.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 17561 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Scientific Reports |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2 Sept 2021 |
Bibliographical note
© 2021. The Author(s).Keywords
- Archaea/genetics
- Eukaryota/genetics
- Methylation
- Methyltransferases/metabolism
- RNA/genetics
- RNA, Guide, Kinetoplastida/genetics
- RNA, Small Nucleolar/metabolism
- Ribonucleoproteins/metabolism