WBSCR22/Merm1 is required for late nuclear pre-ribosomal RNA processing and mediates N7-methylation of G1639 in human 18S rRNA

Ribosomal (r)RNAs are extensively modified during ribosome synthesis and their modification is required for the fidelity and efficiency of translation. Besides numerous small nucleolar RNA-guided 2′-O methylations and pseudouridinylations, a number of individual RNA methyltransferases are involved in rRNA modification. WBSCR22/Merm1, which is affected in Williams–Beuren syndrome and has been implicated in tumorigenesis and metastasis formation, was recently shown to be involved in ribosome synthesis, but its molecular functions have remained elusive. Here we show that depletion of WBSCR22 leads to nuclear accumulation of 3′-extended 18SE pre-rRNA intermediates resulting in impaired 18S rRNA maturation. We map the 3′ ends of the 18SE pre-rRNA intermediates accumulating after depletion of WBSCR22 and in control cells using 3′-RACE and deep sequencing. Furthermore, we demonstrate that WBSCR22 is required for N⁷-methylation of G1639 in human 18S rRNA in vivo. Interestingly, the catalytic activity of WBSCR22 is not required for 18S pre-rRNA processing, suggesting that the key role of WBSCR22 in 40S subunit biogenesis is independent of its function as an RNA methyltransferase.     

Structure of a human pre-40S particle points to a role for RACK1 in the final steps of 18S rRNA processing

Synthesis of ribosomal subunits in eukaryotes is a complex and tightly regulated process that has been mostly characterized in yeast. The discovery of a growing number of diseases linked to defects in ribosome biogenesis calls for a deeper understanding of these mechanisms and of the specificities of human ribosome maturation. We present the 19 Å resolution cryo-EM reconstruction of a cytoplasmic precursor to the human small ribosomal subunit, purified by using the tagged ribosome biogenesis factor LTV1 as bait. Compared to yeast pre-40S particles, this first three-dimensional structure of a human 40S subunit precursor shows noticeable differences with respect to the position of ribosome biogenesis factors and uncovers the early deposition of the ribosomal protein RACK1 during subunit maturation. Consistently, RACK1 is required for efficient processing of the 18S rRNA 3′-end, which might be related to its role in translation initiation. This first structural analysis of a human pre-ribosomal particle sets the grounds for high-resolution studies of conformational transitions accompanying ribosomal subunit maturation.     

NSUN4 Is a Dual Function Mitochondrial Protein Required for Both Methylation of 12S rRNA and Coordination of Mitoribosomal Assembly

Biogenesis of mammalian mitochondrial ribosomes requires a concerted maturation of both the small (SSU) and large subunit (LSU). We demonstrate here that the m⁵C methyltransferase NSUN4, which forms a complex with MTERF4, is essential in mitochondrial ribosomal biogenesis as mitochondrial translation is abolished in conditional Nsun4 mouse knockouts. Deep sequencing of bisulfite-treated RNA shows that NSUN4 methylates cytosine 911 in 12S rRNA (m5C911) of the SSU. Surprisingly, NSUN4 does not need MTERF4 to generate this modification. Instead, the NSUN4/MTERF4 complex is required to assemble the SSU and LSU to form a monosome. NSUN4 is thus a dual function protein, which on the one hand is needed for 12S rRNA methylation and, on the other hand interacts with MTERF4 to facilitate monosome assembly. The presented data suggest that NSUN4 has a key role in controlling a final step in ribosome biogenesis to ensure that only the mature SSU and LSU are assembled.     

Removal of a ribosome small subunit-dependent GTPase confers salt resistance on Escherichia coli cells

RsgA is a unique GTP hydrolytic protein in which GTPase activity is significantly enhanced by the small ribosomal subunit. Deletion of RsgA causes slow cell growth as well as defects in subunit assembly of the ribosome and 16S rRNA processing, suggesting its involvement in maturation of the small subunit. In this study, we found that removal of RsgA or inactivation of its ribosome small subunit-dependent GTPase activity provides Escherichia coli cells with resistance to high salt stress. Salt stress suppressed the defects in subunit assembly of the ribosome and processing of 16S rRNA as well as truncation of the 3′ end of 16S rRNA in RsgA-deletion cells. In contrast, salt stress transiently impaired subunit assembly of the ribosome and processing of 16S rRNA and induced 3′ truncation of 16S rRNA in wild-type cells. These results suggest that the action of RsgA on the ribosome, which usually facilitates maturation of the small subunit, disturbs it under a salt stress condition. Consistently, there was a drastic but transient decrease in the intracellular amount of RsgA after salt shock. Salt shock would make the pathway of maturation of the ribosome small subunit RsgA independent.     

Identification of novel methyltransferases,Bmt5 and Bmt6, responsible for the m3U methylations of 25S rRNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

RNA contains various chemical modifications that expand its otherwise limited repertoire to mediate complex processes like translation and gene regulation. 25S rRNA of the large subunit of ribosome contains eight base methylations. Except for the methylation of uridine residues, methyltransferases for all other known base methylations have been recently identified. Here we report the identification of BMT5 (YIL096C) and BMT6 (YLR063W), two previously uncharacterized genes, to be responsible for m³U2634 and m³U2843 methylation of the 25S rRNA, respectively. These genes were identified by RP-HPLC screening of all deletion mutants of putative RNA methyltransferases and were confirmed by gene complementation and phenotypic characterization. Both proteins belong to Rossmann-fold–like methyltransferases and the point mutations in the S-adenosyl-l-methionine binding pocket abolish the methylation reaction. Bmt5 localizes in the nucleolus, whereas Bmt6 is localized predominantly in the cytoplasm. Furthermore, we showed that 25S rRNA of yeast does not contain any m⁵U residues as previously predicted. With Bmt5 and Bmt6, all base methyltransferases of the 25S rRNA have been identified. This will facilitate the analyses of the significance of these modifications in ribosome function and cellular physiology.     

Bud23 methylates G1575 of 18S rRNA and is required for efficient nuclear export of pre-40S subunits

BUD23 was identified from a bioinformatics analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae genes involved in ribosome biogenesis. Deletion of BUD23 leads to severely impaired growth, reduced levels of the small (40S) ribosomal subunit, and a block in processing 20S rRNA to 18S rRNA, a late step in 40S maturation. Bud23 belongs to the S-adenosylmethionine-dependent Rossmann-fold methyltransferase superfamily and is related to small-molecule methyltransferases. Nevertheless, we considered that Bud23 methylates rRNA. Methylation of G1575 is the only mapped modification for which the methylase has not been assigned. Here, we show that this modification is lost in bud23 mutants. The nuclear accumulation of the small-subunit reporters Rps2-green fluorescent protein (GFP) and Rps3-GFP, as well as the rRNA processing intermediate, the 5' internal transcribed spacer 1, indicate that bud23 mutants are defective for small-subunit export. Mutations in Bud23 that inactivated its methyltransferase activity complemented a bud23Delta mutant. In addition, mutant ribosomes in which G1575 was changed to adenosine supported growth comparable to that of cells with wild-type ribosomes. Thus, Bud23 protein, but not its methyltransferase activity, is important for biogenesis and export of the 40S subunit in yeast.     

Ribosome biogenesis requires a highly diverged XRN family 5′→3′ exoribonuclease for rRNA processing in Trypanosoma brucei

Although biogenesis of ribosomes is a crucial process in all organisms and is thus well conserved, Trypanosoma brucei ribosome biogenesis, of which maturation of rRNAs is an early step, has multiple points of divergence. Our aim was to determine whether in the processing of the pre-rRNA precursor molecule, 5′→3′ exoribonuclease activity in addition to endonucleolytic cleavage is necessary in T. brucei as in other organisms. Our approach initiated with the bioinformatic identification of a putative 5′→3′ exoribonuclease, XRNE, which is highly diverged from the XRN2/Rat1 enzyme responsible for rRNA processing in other organisms. Tagging this protein in vivo allowed us to classify XRNE as nucleolar by indirect immunofluorescence and identify by copurification interacting proteins, many of which were ribosomal proteins, ribosome biogenesis proteins, and/or RNA processing proteins. To determine whether XRNE plays a role in ribosome biogenesis in procyclic form cells, we inducibly depleted the protein by RNA interference. This resulted in the generation of aberrant preprocessed 18S rRNA and 5′ extended 5.8S rRNA, implicating XRNE in rRNA processing. Polysome profiles of XRNE-depleted cells demonstrated abnormal features including an increase in ribosome small subunit abundance, a decrease in large subunit abundance, and defects in polysome assembly. Furthermore, the 5′ extended 5.8S rRNA in XRNE-depleted cells was observed in the large subunit, monosomes, and polysomes in this gradient. Therefore, the function of XRNE in rRNA processing, presumably due to exonucleolytic activity very early in ribosome biogenesis, has consequences that persist throughout all biogenesis stages.     

Dual function of GTPBP6 in biogenesis and recycling of human mitochondrial ribosomes

Translation and ribosome biogenesis in mitochondria require auxiliary factors that ensure rapid and accurate synthesis of mitochondrial proteins. Defects in translation are associated with oxidative phosphorylation deficiency and cause severe human diseases, but the exact roles of mitochondrial translation-associated factors are not known. Here we identify the functions of GTPBP6, a homolog of the bacterial ribosome-recycling factor HflX, in human mitochondria. Similarly to HflX, GTPBP6 facilitates the dissociation of ribosomes in vitro and in vivo. In contrast to HflX, GTPBP6 is also required for the assembly of mitochondrial ribosomes. GTPBP6 ablation leads to accumulation of late assembly intermediate(s) of the large ribosomal subunit containing ribosome biogenesis factors MTERF4, NSUN4, MALSU1 and the GTPases GTPBP5, GTPBP7 and GTPBP10. Our data show that GTPBP6 has a dual function acting in ribosome recycling and biogenesis. These findings contribute to our understanding of large ribosomal subunit assembly as well as ribosome recycling pathway in mitochondria.     

Properties of small rRNA methyltransferase RsmD: mutational and kinetic study

Ribosomal RNA modification is accomplished by a variety of enzymes acting on all stages of ribosome assembly. Among rRNA methyltransferases of Escherichia coli, RsmD deserves special attention. Despite its minimalistic domain architecture, it is able to recognize a single target nucleotide G966 of the 16S rRNA. RsmD acts late in the assembly process and is able to modify a completely assembled 30S subunit. Here, we show that it possesses superior binding properties toward the unmodified 30S subunit but is unable to bind a 30S subunit modified at G966. RsmD is unusual in its ability to withstand multiple amino acid substitutions of the active site. Such efficiency of RsmD may be useful to complete the modification of a 30S subunit ahead of the 30S subunit's involvement in translation.     

The 60S associated ribosome biogenesis factor LSG1‐2 is required for 40S maturation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Ribosome biogenesis involves a large ensemble of trans‐acting factors, which catalyse rRNA processing, ribosomal protein association and ribosomal subunit assembly. The circularly permuted GTPase Lsg1 is such a ribosome biogenesis factor, which is involved in maturation of the pre‐60S ribosomal subunit in yeast. We identified two orthologues of Lsg1 in Arabidopsis thaliana. Both proteins differ in their C‐terminus, which is highly charged in atLSG1‐2 but missing in atLSG1‐1. This C‐terminus of atLSG1‐2 contains a functional nuclear localization signal in a part of the protein that also targets atLSG1‐2 to the nucleolus. Furthermore, only atLSG1‐2 is physically associated with ribosomes suggesting its function in ribosome biogenesis. Homozygous T‐DNA insertion lines are viable for both LSG1 orthologues. In plants lacking atLSG1‐2 18S rRNA precursors accumulate and a 20S pre‐rRNA is detected, while the amount of pre‐rRNAs that lead to the 25S and 5.8S rRNA is not changed. Thus, our results suggest that pre‐60S subunit maturation is important for the final steps of pre‐40S maturation in plants. In addition, the lsg1‐2 mutants show severe developmental defects, including triple cotyledons and upward curled leaves, which link ribosome biogenesis to early plant and leaf development.     

Impairment of ribosomal subunit synthesis in aminoglycoside-treated ribonuclease mutants of Escherichia coli

The bacterial ribosome is an important target for many antimicrobial agents. Aminoglycoside antibiotics bind to both 30S and 50S ribosomal subunits, inhibiting translation and subunit formation. During ribosomal subunit biogenesis, ribonucleases (RNases) play an important role in rRNA processing. E. coli cells deficient for specific processing RNases are predicted to have an increased sensitivity to neomycin and paromomycin. Four RNase mutant strains showed an increased growth sensitivity to both aminoglycoside antibiotics. E. coli strains deficient for the rRNA processing enzymes RNase III, RNase E, RNase G or RNase PH showed significantly reduced subunit amounts after antibiotic treatment. A substantial increase in a 16S RNA precursor molecule was observed as well. Ribosomal RNA turnover was stimulated, and an enhancement of 16S and 23S rRNA fragmentation was detected in E. coli cells deficient for these enzymes. This work indicates that bacterial RNases may be novel antimicrobial targets.     

Dual function of eIF3j/Hcr1p in processing 20 S pre-rRNA and translation initiation

eIF3j/Hcr1p, a protein associated with eIF3, was shown to bind to, and stabilize, the multifactor complex containing eIFs 1, 2, 3, and 5 and Met-tRNA(i)(Met), whose formation is required for an optimal rate of translation initiation. Here we present evidence that eIF3j/Hcr1p is an RNA binding protein that enhances a late step in 40 S ribosome maturation involving cleavage of the 20 S precursor of 18 S rRNA in the cytoplasm. Immunofluorescence staining shows that eIF3j/Hcr1p is localized predominantly in the cytoplasm. The hcr1Delta mutant exhibits a decreased amount of 40 S subunits, hypersensitivity to paromomycin, and increased levels of 20 S pre-rRNA. Combining the hcr1Delta mutation with drs2Delta or rps0aDelta, deletions of two other genes involved in the same step of 40 S subunit biogenesis, produced a synthetic growth defect. p35, the human ortholog of eIF3j/Hcr1p, partially complemented the slow growth phenotype conferred by hcr1Delta when overexpressed in yeast. heIF3j/p35 was found physically associated with yeast eIF3 and 43 S initiation complexes in vitro and in vivo. Because it did not complement the 40 S biogenesis defect of hcr1Delta, it appears that heIF3j can substitute for eIF3j/Hcr1p only in translation initiation. We conclude that eIF3j/Hcr1p is required for rapid processing of 20 S to 18 S rRNA besides its role in translation initiation, providing an intriguing link between ribosome biogenesis and translation.     

Rational Extension of the Ribosome Biogenesis Pathway Using Network-Guided Genetics

Biogenesis of ribosomes is an essential cellular process conserved across all eukaryotes and is known to require >170 genes for the assembly, modification, and trafficking of ribosome components through multiple cellular compartments. Despite intensive study, this pathway likely involves many additional genes. Here, we employ network-guided genetics—an approach for associating candidate genes with biological processes that capitalizes on recent advances in functional genomic and proteomic studies—to computationally identify additional ribosomal biogenesis genes. We experimentally evaluated >100 candidate yeast genes in a battery of assays, confirming involvement of at least 15 new genes, including previously uncharacterized genes (YDL063C, YIL091C, YOR287C, YOR006C/TSR3, YOL022C/TSR4). We associate the new genes with specific aspects of ribosomal subunit maturation, ribosomal particle association, and ribosomal subunit nuclear export, and we identify genes specifically required for the processing of 5S, 7S, 20S, 27S, and 35S rRNAs. These results reveal new connections between ribosome biogenesis and mRNA splicing and add >10% new genes—most with human orthologs—to the biogenesis pathway, significantly extending our understanding of a universally conserved eukaryotic process.