Ribosomal subunits from Tetrahymena pyriformis. Isolation and properties of active 40-S and 60-S subunits.

Tetrahymena pyriformis ribosomal subunits were obtained by incubation of post-mitochondrial supernatant in the presence of 0.2 mM GTP and 0.1 mM puromycin for 45 min at 28 degrees C, followed by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Isolated 40-S subunits were able to reassociate in vitro in the presence of 5 mM MgCl2 and 50 mM KCl and to perform poly(U)-dependent protein synthesis. The 60-S subunit carries the peptidyl transferase activity. The number of proteins in T. pyriformis ribosomal subunits was determined by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The 40-S subunit contains 30 different protein species (including two acidic proteins). The 60-S subunit contains 35 different protein species (including two acidic proteins). The proteins were numbered following the system of Kaltschmidt and Wittmann.     

Specific ribonucleoprotein fragments from 40-S ribosomal subunits.

Well-defined ribonucleoprotein fragments, resulting from the action of endogenous nuclease on 40-S subunits, were able to be separated when using high concentrations of LiCl. The ribonucleoproteins obtained sedimented at 12, 17 S, 23 S and 30 S and contained 8 S, 12 S and 17 S RNA, respectively, associated with a few proteins. The proteins extracted from the fragments were [3H] labeled by reductive methylation and their molar proportion was determined. The smallest fragment (12, 17 S) contained only three proteins, S8, S9 and S24. The 23-S and 30-S materials contained some proteins in common, S15, S19, S22, S25; S16 was found mainly in 30 S. Two proteins, S26 and "protein y" were found mainly in 23 S material. Thus, these results can give information on the relative location of certain proteins in the 40-S subunits.     

Reconstitution of active 30-S ribosomal subunits in vitro using heat-denatured 16-S rRNA.

30-S ribosomal subunits which have been reconstituted using heat-denatured 16-S rRNA can participate in the synthesis of lysosyme in vitro. Therefore all the information contributed by 16-S rRNA to the reconstitution process is carried in the primary sequence of this RNA. The specific protein-synthesizing activity of 30-S subunits reconstituted from 30-S subunit proteins and heat-denatured 16-S rRNA is about one third of that observed if unheated 16-S rRNA is used and is comparable to the activity of 30-S particles isolated after dissociation of 70-S ribosomes in the presence of 0.1 mM Mg2+.     

Photo-induced protein-RNA cross-linking in mammalian 60-S ribosomal subunits.

Rat liver 60-S ribosomal subunits were submitted to increasing doses of radiation (253.7 nm), at 4 degrees C and 25 degrees C, as previously reported fro 40-S subunits. The existence of protein-RNA cross-linking was demonstrated by two methods. The first consisted in the separation of protein-RNA complex; the second was indirect, and took into account alteration either in the electrophoretic mobility of cross-linked proteins or the separability of 28-S RNA in a 4 M urea/3 M LiCl buffer. The peptide synthetase activity and the sedimentation characteristics of the particles irradiated at 4 degrees C were well preserved, but at 25 degrees C the large subunits were progressively inactivated and unfolded for doses higher than 2 x 10(18) quanta. The dose-dependent variations of protein cross-linkage determined by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis allowed us to distinguish those proteins which reacted at the lowest doses with a first-order reaction from those which cross-linked to RNA after a subtle modification of the subunit structure. At 25 degrees C, all proteins became low-dose reactive. The curve obtained for 28-S RNA cross-linkage was similar to that of the total protein moiety, while those obtained fro the 5-S and 5.8-S RNA (which were parallel) suggest a lower reactivity of these RNAs. As a general rule, proteins from the large subunits were more reactive to RNA than those from the small subunits. This could indicate differences in the organisation of the two subunits.     

Heterogeneity of native ribosomal 60-S subunits in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells cultured in vitro.

Native large ribosomal subunits in cultured Ehrlich ascites tumor cells analyzed by high-resolution CsCl isopycnic centrifugation consist of at least two classes of particles with densities of 1.57 g/cm3 (LI) and 1.59 g/cm3 (LII), respectively. A wash with 0.5 M KCl converts LI into particles with the density of LII particles. Incubation of derived large subunits (density 1.59 g/cm3) with 0.5 M KCl wash of reticulocyte ribosomes leads to the formation of particles with the density of LI particles. A protein with a molecular weight of 57000 present in the high-KCl wash of 60-S native subunits was virtually absent in the KCl wash of 40-S subunits or polyribosomes suggesting that specific protein factors may be present on some native 60-S subunits. Possible functions of these protein factors are discussed.     

Specific association of two homologous DNA-binding proteins to the native 30-S ribosomal subunits of Escherichia coli.

The native 30-S ribosomal subunits from Escherichia coli are shown to be associated with two proteins which are different from the known ribosome-associated and ribosomal proteins. Neither protein is foune on native 50-S subunits or on intact ribosomes in the cell extract. The purified proteins re-bind in vitro to free 30-S subunits, but do not bind to either free 50-S subunits or intact ribosomes. The proteins, denoted NS1 and NS2, have been purified and characterized. Both proteins showed the same molecular weight of 9500 by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis but 34 000 by gel filtration. Upon treatment with cross-linking reagents the purified proteins gave higher molecular weight species up to the tetrameric ones showing that they exist in solution as tetramers. The amino acid compositions, tryptic fingerprint patterns and N-terminal sequences of the two proteins have been determined. These data show that NS1 and NS2 possess distinct primary structures but with extensive sequence homology. Antibodies raised against the purified proteins cross-reacted in double immuno-diffusion tests confirming further the homology. Because of the similarity in properties a sample of the DNA-binding protein HD (Berthold, V. and Geider, K. (1976) Eur. J. Biochem. 71, 443--449) was compared to NS1 and NS2. In terms of several criteria, the protein HD is found to be a mixture of two proteins, namely NS1 and NS2. The present report is the first instance of an association of DNA-binding proteins to the ribosome.     

Characterisation of RNA fragments obtained by mild nuclease digestion of 30-S ribosomal subunits from Escherichia coli.

When Escherichia coli 30-S ribosomal subunits are hydrolysed under mild conditions, two ribonucleoprotein fragments of unequal size are produced. Knowledge of the RNA sequences contained in these hydrolysis products was required for the experiments described in the preceding paper, and the RNA sub-fragments have therefore been examined by oligonucleotide analysis. Two well-defined small fragments of free RNA, produced concomitantly with the ribonucleoprotein fragments, were also analysed. The larger ribonucleoprotein fragment, containing predominantly proteins S4, S5, S8, S15, S16 (17) and S20, contains a complex mixture of RNA sub-fragments varying from about 100 to 800 nucleotides in length. All these fragments arose from the 5'-terminal 900 nucleotides of 16-S RNA, corresponding to the well-known 12-S fragment. No long-range interactions could be detected within this RNA region in these experiments. The RNA from the smaller ribonucleoprotein fragment (containing proteins S7, S9 S10, S14 and S19) has been described in detail previously, and consists of about 450 nucleotides near the 3' end of the 16-S RNA, but lacking the 3'-terminal 150 nucleotides. The two small free RNA fragments (above) partly account for these missing 150 nucleotides; both fragments arose from section A of the 16-S RNA, but section J (the 3'-terminal 50 nucleotides) was not found. This result suggests that the 3' region of 16-S RNA is not involved in stable interactions with protein.     

Identification of homologous ribosomal proteins in HeLa cells and in Tetrahymena pyriformis. A study of proteins binding 5-S RNA and acidic proteins released from 40-S subunits by EDTA

Tetrahymena pyriformis 60-S ribosomal subunits treated with EDTA release a 7-S particle containing 5-S RNA and a 36000-Mr protein that is similar to mammalian 5-S-RNA-binding protein L5 in molecular weight, in two-dimensional acrylamide gel mobility, and in peptide pattern as generated by a simple, one-dimensional acrylamide gel technique. Human and T. pyriformis 40-S ribosomal subunits, treated with buffers lacking magnesium or containing EDTA, release varying amounts of two large acidic proteins. We have identified these released proteins by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis.