Crystal structure of a ribonuclease from the seeds of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) at 1.75 A resolution.

The ribonuclease MC1 (RNase MC1) from seeds of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) consists of 190 amino acid residues with four disulfide bridges and belongs to the RNase T(2) family, including fungal RNases typified by RNase Rh from Rhizopus niveus and RNase T(2) from Aspergillus oryzae. The crystal structure of RNase MC1 has been determined at 1.75 A resolution with an R-factor of 19.7% using the single isomorphous replacement method. RNase MC1 structurally belongs to the (alpha+beta) class of proteins, having ten helices (six alpha-helices and four 3(10)-helices) and eight beta-strands. When the structures of RNase MC1 and RNase Rh are superposed, the close agreement between the alpha-carbon positions for the total structure is obvious: the root mean square deviations calculated only for structurally related 151 alpha-carbon atoms of RNase MC1 and RNase Rh molecules was 1.76 A. Furthermore, the conformation of the catalytic residues His-46, Glu-105, and His-109 in RNase Rh can be easily superposed with that of the possible catalytic residues His-34, Glu-84, and His-88 in RNase MC1. This observation strongly indicates that RNase MC1 from a plant origin catalyzes RNA degradation in a similar manner as fungal RNases.     

Amino-acid sequence of ribonuclease T2 from Aspergillus oryzae

The amino acid sequence of ribonuclease T2 (RNase T2) from Aspergillus oryzae has been determined. This has been achieved by analyzing peptides obtained by digestions with Achromobacter lyticus protease I, Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease, and alpha-chymotrypsin of two large cyanogen bromide peptides derived from the reduced and S-carboxymethylated or S-aminoethylated protein. Digestion with A. lyticus protease I was successfully used to degrade the N-terminal half of the S-aminoethylated protein at cysteine residues. RNase T2 is a glycoprotein consisting of 239 amino acid residues with a relative molecular mass of 29,155. The sugar content is 7.9% (by mass). Three glycosylation sites were determined at Asns 15, 76 and 239. Apparently RNase T2 has a very low degree of sequence similarity with RNase T1, but a considerable similarity is observed around the amino acid residues involved in substrate recognition and binding in RNase T1. These similar residues may be important for the catalytic activity of RNase T2.     

Expression of RNase Rh from Rhizopus niveus in yeast and characterization of the secreted proteins.

The full-length cDNA encoding RNase Rh, which is secreted extracellularly by Rhizopus niveus, was isolated and its nucleotide sequence was determined. It was placed under control of the promoter of the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a high expression vector in yeast. Since yeast cells transformed by this plasmid poorly secreted RNase into the medium, the plasmid pYE RNAP-Rh was constructed, in which the signal sequence of RNase Rh was replaced by the prepro-sequence of aspartic proteinase-I, one of the extracellular enzymes secreted by R. niveus. Yeast cells harboring pYE RNAP-Rh produced RNase efficiently (ca. 40 micrograms/ml) into the medium. The product was a mixture of six enzymes (RNase RNAP-Rhs) having 3, 5, 9, 13, 14, and 16 additional amino acid residues attached to the amino terminus of the mature RNase Rh. The major product was the RNase with three additional amino acids at the amino terminus. Limited digestion of RNase RNAP-Rhs with staphylococcal V8 protease succeeded in shortening the various lengths of extra amino acid residues attached to the amino terminus of RNase Rh, yielding an RNase that has 3 additional amino acids at the amino terminus. It has been named RNase RNAP-Rh. The RNase RNAP-Rh showed the same specific activity and CD spectra as those of RNase Rh, suggesting that the two have similar conformations to each other around aromatic amino acid residues and the peptide backbone.     

DNA sequence of the gene coding for Escherichia coli ribonuclease H

The gene for Escherichia coli ribonuclease H has been studied by use of a plasmid which contains a segment of the E. coli chromosome. The genomic DNA was subcloned from pLC28-22 to pBR322 by use of various restriction enzymes. Such subcloning limited the RNase H gene to a piece of DNA no longer than 760 base pairs. Cells bearing plasmids containing the RNase H gene produce as much as 10-15 times the normal amount of RNase H without any drastic effect on maintenance of the plasmid or cell growth. DNA sequence analysis has permitted the prediction of a protein whose molecular weight is 17,559 (155 amino acid residues). The predicted sequence was confirmed by amino acid analysis, NH2-terminal amino acid sequence, and size determination of highly purified RNase H.     

Base Specificity and Primary Structure of Poly U-preferential Ribonuclease from Chicken Liver

The primary structure and base specificity of chicken liver RNase CL₁ which has been reported by Miura et al. [Chem. Pharm. Bull., 32,4053–4060 (1984)] as poly U-preferential RNase, were extensively studied. The sequence study of this enzyme and comparison of the amino acid sequence of the enzyme with homologous RNases from oyster and Drosophila melanogaster suggested that RNase CL₁ consists of three peptides with 17, 19, and 163 amino acid residues. The amino acid sequence of these three peptides were identified. The two small peptides are joined to the large peptide by disulfide bridges. The amino acid sequence of RNase CL₁ had 62 (31.2%) and 63 residues (31.6%) identical with oyster RNase and D. melanogaster RNase, respectively, and belongs to the RNase T₂ family RNase.

Reassessment of the base specificity of RNase CL₁ found that it is guanylic acid, then uridylic acid-preferential, and not poly U preferential.     

Retention of core catalytic functions by a conserved minimal ribonuclease E peptide that lacks the domain required for tetramer formation

Ribonuclease E (RNase E) is a multifunctional endoribonuclease that has been evolutionarily conserved in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. X-ray crystallography and biochemical studies have concluded that the Escherichia coli RNase E protein functions as a homotetramer formed by Zn linkage of dimers within a region extending from amino acid residues 416 through 529 of the 116-kDa protein. Using fragments of RNase E proteins from E. coli and Haemophilus influenzae, we show here that RNase E derivatives that are as short as 395 amino acid residues and that lack the Zn-link region shown previously to be essential for tetramer formation (i.e. amino acid residues 400-415) are catalytically active enzymes that retain the 5' to 3' scanning ability and cleavage site specificity characteristic of full-length RNase E and that also confer colony forming ability on rne null mutant bacteria. Further truncation leads to loss of these properties. Our results, which identify a minimal catalytically active RNase E sequence, indicate that contrary to current models, a tetrameric quaternary structure is not required for RNase E to carry out its core enzymatic functions.     

Purification and characterization of a ribonuclease from human spleen. Immunological and enzymological comparison with nonsecretory ribonuclease from human urine

A ribonuclease has been isolated from human spleen (RNase HS) by means of acid extraction, ammonium sulphate fractionation, successive column chromatographies on CM-cellulose, heparin-actigel, and poly(G)-agarose, and double gel-filtration on Sephadex G-75. The purified preparation was homogeneous as judged by SDS/PAGE. RNase HS was found to be a glycoprotein, containing three fucose, one mannose and five glucosamine residues/molecule, with a molecular mass of 17 kDa as determined by both SDS/PAGE and gel filtration. The catalytic properties and structural features, including its amino acid composition and the amino acid sequence of the N-terminal 35 residues, indicated that the enzyme was strictly related to nonsecretory RNase isolated from human urine and liver. In particular, the amino acid sequence of the N-terminal was identical with that of urine nonsecretory RNase and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin. Furthermore, analyses using three different antibodies specific to RNase HS, urine nonsecretory RNase and urine secretory RNase, indicated that RNase HS was not immunologically distinguishable from urine nonsecretory RNase, but clearly so from urine secretory RNase. However, the carbohydrate compositions of RNase HS and urine nonsecretory RNase were found to differ. It therefore remains to be resolved whether or not the tissue of origin of nonsecretory RNase in urine is the spleen.     

Primary structure of a ribonuclease from bovine brain

The primary structure of a pyrimidine base-specific ribonuclease from bovine brain was determined. The sequence determined is (sequence; see text). Although the sequence homology of this RNase with bovine pancreatic RNase A is 78.2%, it consists of 140 amino acid residues, and it is 16 amino acid residues longer than RNase A at the carboxyl-terminal. In addition to an N-glycosylated long carbohydrate chain, the bovine brain RNase has two short O-glycosylated carbohydrate chains at the 129th and the 133rd serine residues. The additional C-terminal tail of the bovine brain RNase has a unique composition: 6 proline, 5 hydrophobic amino acids, and two basic amino acids, arginine and histidine.     

Primary structure of a base non-specific and adenylic acid preferential ribonuclease from Aspergillus saitoi

The complete primary structure of a base non-specific and adenylic acid preferential RNase (RNase M) from Aspergillus saitoi was determined. The sequence was determined by analysis of the peptides generated by digestion of heat-denatured RNase M with lysylendopeptidase, and the peptides generated from RCM RNase M by digestion with staphylococcal V8 protease or chemical cleavage with BrCN. It consisted of 238 amino acid residues and carbohydrate moiety attached to the 74th asparagine residue. The molecular weight of the protein moiety deduced from the sequence was 26,596. The locations of 10 half cystine residues are almost superimposable on those of RNase Rh from Rhizopus niveus and RNase T2 from Aspergillus oryzae which have similar base specificity. The homology between RNase M and RNase Rh and RNase T2 amounted to 97 and 160 amino acid residues, respectively. The amino acid sequences conserved in the three RNases are concentrated around the three histidine residues, which are supposed to form part of the active sites of these RNases.     

Mutagenesis of residues flanking Lys-40 enhances the enzymatic activity and reduces the angiogenic potency of angiogenin.

The primary structure of the blood vessel inducing protein angiogenin is 35% identical with that of pancreatic ribonuclease (RNase) and contains counterparts for the critical RNase active-site residues His-12, Lys-41, and His-119. Although angiogenin is a ribonucleolytic enzyme, its activity toward conventional substrates is lower than that of pancreatic RNase by several orders of magnitude. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of RNase and angiogenin reveals several striking differences in the region flanking the active-site lysine, including a deletion and a transposition of aspartic acid and proline residues. In order to examine how these sequence changes alter the functional properties of angiogenin, an angiogenin/RNase hybrid protein (ARH-II), in which residues 38-41 of angiogenin (Pro-Cys-Lys-Asp) have been replaced by the corresponding segment of bovine pancreatic RNase (Asp-Arg-Cys-Lys-Pro), was prepared by regional mutagenesis. Compared to angiogenin, ARH-II has markedly diminished angiogenic activity on the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane but 5-75-fold greater enzymatic activity toward a variety of polynucleotide and dinucleotide substrates. In addition, the specificity of ARH-II toward dinucleotide substrates differs from that of angiogenin and is qualitatively similar to that of pancreatic RNase. Thus, non-active-site residues near Lys-40 in angiogenin appear to play a significant role in determining enzymatic specificity and reactivity as well as angiogenic potency. An additional angiogenin/RNase hybrid protein (ARH-IV), in which residues 59-71 of ARH-II have been replaced by the corresponding segment of pancreatic RNase, was also prepared.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The amino acid sequence of ribonuclease N1, a guanine-specific ribonuclease from the fungus Neurospora crassa

The complete amino acid sequence of ribonuclease N1 (RNase N1), a guanine-specific ribonuclease from a fungus, Neurospora crassa, was determined by conventional protein sequencing, using peptide fragments obtained by tryptic digestion of cyanogen bromide-treated RNase N1 and by Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease digestion of heat-denatured RNase N1. The results showed that the protein is composed of a single polypeptide chain of 104 amino acid residues cross-linked by two disulfide bonds and has a molecular weight of 11,174: (sequence; see text) (Disulfide bonds: C2-C10, C6-C103) The amino acid sequence was homologous with those of RNase T1 (65% identity) and related microbial RNases.     

Amino acid sequence of ribonuclease Ap1 from Aspergillus pallidus

The complete amino acid sequence of an extracellular guanyl-specific RNase from Aspergillus pallidus fungi has been established. The RNase contains 104 amino acid residues (Mr 11,029). Its primary structure was analyzed basing on the automated Edman degradation of the carboxymethylated RNase followed by tryptic digestion and sequencing of the resultant hydrolysate. An additional structural information was obtained by means of the automatic sequencing of the cyanogen bromide peptide mixture and by studying the kinetics of the RNase's digestion with carboxypeptidase Y.     

A barley gene (rsh1) encoding a ribonuclease S-like homologue specifically expressed in young light-grown leaves

 A group of frequent cDNA clones from a young-leaf cDNA library was found to code for a homologue of S-ribonucleases (S-RNases) involved in gametophytic incompatibility and the so-called S-like RNases active in flowers and in vegetative tissues. The derived amino acid sequence starts with a signal peptide and has a 27-amino-acid C-terminal extension of unknown function. The barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) gene, rsh1 (for RNase S-like homologue) corresponding to the cDNA clones was isolated. The gene has three introns and the position of one intron corresponds to the site of the single, small intron in the S-RNase genes. The deduced amino acid sequence of mature RSH1 shares 35% identical and 58% similar amino acid residues with an S-like RNase from tomato, RNase LE. However, two active-site histidine residues, conserved between all S and S-like RNases are replaced by serine residues in RSH1. The new barley RNase S-like homologue is clearly related to the family of active RNases but is probably not active as an RNase. Sequences from the same class of presumably inactive RNases have been recorded in maize, rice and sorghum. The barley gene is exclusively expressed in young leaf tissue and is substantially induced by light. Received: 26 July 1999 / Accepted: 26 October 1999     

Expression and mutational analysis of amino acid residues involved in catalytic activity in a ribonuclease MC1 from the seeds of bitter gourd

The ribonuclease MC1 (RNase MC1) from seeds of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) consists of 190 amino acids and belongs to the RNase T2 family, including fungal RNases typified by RNase Rh from Rhizopus niveus. We expressed RNase MC1 in Escherichia coli cells and made use of site-directed mutagenesis to identify essential amino acid residues for catalytic activity. Mutations of His34 and His88 to Ala completely abolished the enzymatic activity, and considerable decreases in the enzymatic activity were observed in cases of mutations of His83, Glu84, and Lys87, when yeast RNA was used as a substrate. Kinetic parameters for the enzymatic activity of the mutants of His83, Glu84, and Lys87 were analyzed using a dinucleoside monophosphate CpU. Km values for the mutants were approximately like that for wild-type, while k(cat) values were decreased by about 6 to 25-fold. These results suggest that His34, His83, Glu84, Lys87, and His88 in RNase MC1 may be involved in the catalytic function. These observation suggests that RNase MC1 from a plant catalyzes RNA degradation in a similar manner to that of fungal RNases.     

Primary structure of a ribonuclease from bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) liver

A pyrimidine base-specific ribonuclease was purified from bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) liver by means of CM-cellulose column chromatography and affinity chromatography on heparin-Sepharose CL-6B, which gave single band on SDS-slab electrophoresis. The primary structure of the bullfrog liver RNase was determined. It consisted of 111 amino acid residues, including 8 half-cystine residues. From the sequence, it was concluded that three disulfide bridges in RNase A were conserved in the bullfrog RNase, that a disulfide bridge in RNase A [Cys65-Cys126 (RNase A numbering)] was deleted, and that a new disulfide bridge was created in the C-terminal part of the enzyme. In this frog RNase, the amino acid residues thought to be essential for catalysis in bovine pancreatic RNase A were conserved except for Asp121 (RNase A numbering). The sequence homology of the bullfrog liver RNase with bovine pancreatic RNase A was 30.6%. The sequence of bullfrog liver RNase was very similar to those of lectins obtained from bullfrog egg by Titani et al. [Biochemistry (1988) 26, 2189-2194] and R. japonica egg by Kamiya et al. [Seikagaku (in Japanese) (1989) 60, 733; and personal communication from Kamiya, Y., Oyama, F., Oyama, R., Sakakibara, F., Nitta, K., Kawauchi, H., and Titani, K.]. The sequence homology between the bullfrog liver RNase and the two lectins was 70.2 and 64.8%, respectively.     

The structural basis of the difference in sensitivity for PNGase F in the de-N-glycosylation of the native bovine pancreatic ribonucleases B and BS

In glycoanalysis protocols, N-glycans from glycoproteins are most frequently released with peptide- N (4)-( N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminyl)asparagine amidase F (PNGase F). As the enzyme is an amidase, it cleaves the NH-CO linkage between the Asn side chain and the Asn-bound GlcNAc residue. Usually, the enzyme has a low activity, or is not active at all, on native glycoproteins. A typical example is native bovine pancreatic ribonuclease B (RNase B) with oligomannose-type N-glycans at Asn-34. However, native RNase BS, generated by subtilisin digestion of native RNase B, which comprises amino acid residues 21-124 of RNase B, is sensitive to PNGase F digestion. The same holds for carboxymethylated RNase B (RNase B (cm)). In this study, NMR spectroscopy and molecular modeling have been used to explain the differences in PNGase F activity for native RNase B, native RNase BS, and RNase B (cm). NMR analysis combined with literature data clearly indicated that the N-glycan at Asn-34 is more mobile in RNase BS than in RNase B. MD simulations showed that the region around Asn-34 in RNase B is not very flexible, whereby the alpha-helix of the amino acid residues 1-20 has a stabilizing effect. In RNase BS, the alpha-helix formed by amino acid residues 23-32 is significantly more flexible. Using these data, the possibilities for complex formation of both RNase B and RNase BS with PNGase F were studied, and a model for the RNase BS-PNGase F complex is proposed.     

The RNase PD2 gene of almond (Prunus dulcis) represents an evolutionarily distinct class of S-like RNase genes

A cDNA for an S-like RNase (RNase PD2) has been isolated from a pistil cDNA library of Prunus dulcis cv. Ferragnés. The cDNA encodes an acidic protein of 226 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 25 kDa. A potential N-glycosylation site is present at the N-terminus in RNase PD2. A signal peptide of 23 amino acid residues and a transmembrane domain are predicted. The two active-site histidines present in enzymes of the T2/S RNase superfamily were detected in RNase PD2. Its amino acid sequence shows 71.2% similarity to RNS1 of Arabidopsis and RNase T2 of chickpea, respectively. Northern blotting and RT-PCR analyses indicate that PD2 is expressed predominantly in petals, pistils of open flowers and leaves of the almond tree. Analyses of shoots cultured in vitro suggested that the expression of RNase PD2 is associated with phosphate starvation. Southern analysis detected two sequences related to RNase PD2 in the P. dulcis genome. RFLP analysis showed that S-like RNase genes are polymorphic in different almond cultivars. The PD2 gene sequence was amplified by PCR and two introns were shown to interrupt the coding region. Based on sequence analysis, we have defined three classes of S-like RNase genes, with the PD2 RNase gene representing a distinct class. The significance of the structural divergence of S-like RNase genes is further discussed. Received: 24 January 2000 / Accepted: 17 March 2000     

Characterization of RNase-like major storage protein from the ginseng root by proteomic approach

The most abundant root proteins of ginseng (Panax ginseng) have been detected and identified by comparative proteome analysis with cultured hairy root of ginseng. Four abundant proteins (28, 26, 21 and 20 kDa) of P. ginseng had isoforms with different pl values on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE). The results of N-terminal and internal amino acid sequencing, however, showed that all of them originate from a 28 kDa protein, known as ginseng major protein (GMP). The GMP gene was searched for in the expressed sequence tag database of P. ginseng and found to encode a 27.3 kDa protein having 238 amino acid residues. Analysis of the amino acid sequences indicates that GMP exhibits high sequence homology with plant RNases and RNase-like proteins. However, purified GMP had no RNase activity even though it has conserved amino acid residues known to be essential for active sites of RNase. The GMPs present in ginseng main root were not expressed in cultured hairy roots of ginseng. 2DE analysis showed that the amounts of GMPs in main roots change according to seasonal fluctuation. These results suggest that the GMPs are root-specific RNase-like proteins, which function as vegetative storage proteins of ginseng for survival in the natural environment.     

Purification and Primary Structure of a Porcine Kidney Non-secretory Ribonuclease

A non-secretory ribonuclease (RNase PK₃) was isolated from porcine kidney, and its primary structure was analyzed. RNase PK₃ consisted of 126 amino acid residues. The amino acid sequence of RNase PK₃ has high sequence homology with non-secretory RNases from human urine and bovine kidney.