5'-to-3' exoribonuclease activity in bacteria: role of RNase J1 in rRNA maturation and 5' stability of mRNA

Although the primary mechanism of eukaryotic messenger RNA decay is exoribonucleolytic degradation in the 5'-to-3' orientation, it has been widely accepted that Bacteria can only degrade RNAs with the opposite polarity, i.e. 3' to 5'. Here we show that maturation of the 5' side of Bacillus subtilis 16S ribosomal RNA occurs via a 5'-to-3' exonucleolytic pathway, catalyzed by the widely distributed essential ribonuclease RNase J1. The presence of a 5'-to-3' exoribonuclease activity in B. subtilis suggested an explanation for the phenomenon whereby mRNAs in this organism are stabilized for great distances downstream of "roadblocks" such as stalled ribosomes or stable secondary structures, whereas upstream sequences are never detected. We show that a 30S ribosomal subunit bound to a Shine Dalgarno-like element (Stab-SD) in the cryIIIA mRNA blocks exonucleolytic progression of RNase J1, accounting for the stabilizing effect of this element in vivo.     

RNase Y in Bacillus subtilis: a Natively disordered protein that is the functional equivalent of RNase E from Escherichia coli

The control of mRNA stability is an important component of regulation in bacteria. Processing and degradation of mRNAs are initiated by an endonucleolytic attack, and the cleavage products are processively degraded by exoribonucleases. In many bacteria, these RNases, as well as RNA helicases and other proteins, are organized in a protein complex called the RNA degradosome. In Escherichia coli, the RNA degradosome is assembled around the essential endoribonuclease E. In Bacillus subtilis, the recently discovered essential endoribonuclease RNase Y is involved in the initiation of RNA degradation. Moreover, RNase Y interacts with other RNases, the RNA helicase CshA, and the glycolytic enzymes enolase and phosphofructokinase in a degradosome-like complex. In this work, we have studied the domain organization of RNase Y and the contribution of the domains to protein-protein interactions. We provide evidence for the physical interaction between RNase Y and the degradosome partners in vivo. We present experimental and bioinformatic data which indicate that the RNase Y contains significant regions of intrinsic disorder and discuss the possible functional implications of this finding. The localization of RNase Y in the membrane is essential both for the viability of B. subtilis and for all interactions that involve RNase Y. The results presented in this study provide novel evidence for the idea that RNase Y is the functional equivalent of RNase E, even though the two enzymes do not share any sequence similarity.     

Unusual, dual endo- and exonuclease activity in the degradosome explained by crystal structure analysis of RNase J1

RNase J is an essential enzyme in Bacillus subtilis with unusual dual endonuclease and 5'-to-3' exonuclease activities that play an important role in the maturation and degradation of mRNA. RNase J is also a component of the recently identified "degradosome" of B. subtilis. We report the crystal structure of RNase J1 from B. subtilis to 3.0?? resolution, analysis of which reveals it to be in an open conformation suitable for binding substrate RNA. RNase J is a member of the β-CASP family of zinc-dependent metallo-β-lactamases. We have exploited this similarity in constructing a model for an RNase J1:RNA complex. Analysis of this model reveals candidate-stacking interactions with conserved aromatic side chains, providing a molecular basis for the observed enzyme activity. Comparisons of the B. subtilis RNase J structure with related enzymes reveal key differences that provide insights into conformational changes during catalysis and the role of the C-terminal domain.     

The yvaJ gene of Bacillus subtilis encodes a 3'-to-5' exoribonuclease and is not essential in a strain lacking polynucleotide phosphorylase

Studies of Bacillus subtilis RNases that are involved in mRNA degradation reveal a different pattern from that of Escherichia coli. A strain lacking polynucleotide phosphorylase, the major 3'-to-5' exoribonuclease activity in cell extracts, is viable. Here, we show that the B. subtilis yvaJ gene encodes a second 3'-to-5' exoribonuclease. A strain lacking both of these RNases grows slowly but is viable. The existence of another, as yet unknown, 3'-to-5' exoribonuclease in B. subtilis is suggested.     

Purification and properties of a new bacillus subtilis RNA processing enzyme. Cleavage of phage SP82 mRNA and Bacillus subtilis precursor rRNA

An RNA processing activity capable of cleaving Bacillus subtilis phage SP82 early mRNA has been purified to apparent homogeneity from crude extracts of uninfected B. subtilis. The enzyme, a functional monomer of Mr approximately 27,000, cleaves only at the 5' side of adenosine residues at processing sites and is competitively inhibited by double-stranded synthetic RNA polymers. Processed SP82 mRNAs were translated in an Escherichia coli cell-free system and no qualitative or quantitative effects of processing on the synthesis of polypeptides was observed. The processing enzyme does not cleave T7 mRNA, E. coli precursor rRNA, or double-stranded poly(AU). A recombinant plasmid containing portions of two B. subtilis rRNA gene sets was transcribed in vitro and the resulting RNA was cleaved in the spacer region between the 16 S and 23 S rRNA genes. The ability of the B. subtilis processing enzyme to cleave SP82 mRNA and B. subtilis precursor rRNA and the fact that the enzyme has high affinity for double-stranded RNA suggest that it is the functional analog of E. coli RNase III.     

Reassessment of the in vivo functions of DNA polymerase I and RNase H in bacterial cell growth

A major factor in removing RNA primers during the processing of Okazaki fragments is DNA polymerase I (Pol I). Pol I is thought to remove the RNA primers and to fill the resulting gaps simultaneously. RNase H, encoded by rnh genes, is another factor in removing the RNA primers, and there is disagreement with respect to the essentiality of both the polA and rnh genes. In a previous study, we looked for the synthetic lethality of paralogs in Bacillus subtilis and detected several essential doublet paralogs, including the polA ypcP pair. YpcP consists of only the 5'-3' exonuclease domain. In the current study, we first confirmed that the polA genes of both Escherichia coli and B. subtilis could be completely deleted. We found that the 5'-3' exonuclease activity encoded by either polA or ypcP xni was required for the growth of B. subtilis and E. coli. Also, the 5'-3' exonuclease activity of Pol I was indispensable in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus. These results suggest that a 5'-3' exonuclease activity is essential in these organisms. Our success in constructing a B. subtilis strain that lacked all RNase H genes indicates that the enzymatic activity is dispensable, at least in the wild type. Increasing the 5'-3' exonuclease activity partially compensated for a defective phenotype of an RNase H-deficient mutant, suggesting cooperative functions for the two enzyme systems. Our search for the distribution of the 5'-3' exonuclease domain among 250 bacterial genomes resulted in the finding that all eubacteria, but not archaea, possess this domain.     

Ribonucleases J1 and J2: two novel endoribonucleases in B.subtilis with functional homology to E.coli RNase E

Many prokaryotic organisms lack an equivalent of RNase E, which plays a key role in mRNA degradation in Escherichia coli. In this paper, we report the purification and identification by mass spectrometry in Bacillus subtilis of two paralogous endoribonucleases, here named RNases J1 and J2, which share functional homologies with RNase E but no sequence similarity. Both enzymes are able to cleave the B.subtilis thrS leader at a site that can also be cleaved by E.coli RNase E. We have previously shown that cleavage at this site increases the stability of the downstream messenger. Moreover, RNases J1/J2 are sensitive to the 5′ phosphorylation state of the substrate in a site-specific manner. Orthologues of RNases J1/J2, which belong to the metallo-β-lactamase family, are evolutionarily conserved in many prokaryotic organisms, representing a new family of endoribonucleases. RNases J1/J2 appear to be implicated in regulatory processing/maturation of specific mRNAs, such as the T-box family members thrS and thrZ, but may also contribute to global mRNA degradation.     

Molecular basis for the recognition and cleavage of RNA by the bifunctional 5'-3' exo/endoribonuclease RNase J

RNase J is a key member of the β-CASP family of metallo-β-lactamases involved in the maturation and turnover of RNAs in prokaryotes. The B.?subtilis enzyme possesses both 5'-3' exoribonucleolytic and endonucleolytic activity, an unusual property for a ribonuclease. Here, we present the crystal structure of T.?thermophilus RNase J bound to a 4 nucleotide RNA. The structure reveals an RNA-binding channel that illustrates how the enzyme functions in 5'-3' exoribonucleolytic mode and how it can function as an endonuclease. A second, negatively charged tunnel leads from the active site, and is ideally located to evacuate the cleaved nucleotide in 5'-3' exonucleolytic mode. We show that B.?subtilis RNase J1, which shows processive behavior on long RNAs, behaves distributively for substrates less than 5 nucleotides in length. We propose a model involving the binding of the RNA to the surface of the β-CASP domain to explain the enzyme's processive action.     

Mini-III, an unusual member of the RNase III family of enzymes, catalyses 23S ribosomal RNA maturation in B. subtilis

The late steps of both 16S and 5S ribosomal RNA maturation in the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis have been shown to be catalysed by ribonucleases that are not present in the Gram-negative paradigm, Escherichia coli. Here we present evidence that final maturation of the 5' and 3' extremities of B. subtilis 23S rRNA is also performed by an enzyme that is absent from the Proteobacteria. Mini-III contains an RNase III-like catalytic domain, but curiously lacks the double-stranded RNA binding domain typical of RNase III itself, Dicer, Drosha and other well-known members of this family of enzymes. Cells lacking Mini-III accumulate precursors and alternatively matured forms of 23S rRNA. We show that Mini-III functions much more efficiently on precursor 50S ribosomal subunits than naked pre-23S rRNA in vitro, suggesting that maturation occurs primarily on assembled subunits in vivo. Lastly, we provide a model for how Mini-III recognizes and cleaves double-stranded RNA, despite lacking three of the four RNA binding motifs of RNase III.