Structural dynamics of the yeast Shwachman-Diamond syndrome protein (Sdo1) on the ribosome and its implication in the 60S subunit maturation

The human Shwachman-Diamond syndrome (SDS) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in a highly conserved ribosome assembly factor SBDS. The functional role of SBDS is to cooperate with another assembly factor, elongation factor 1-like (Efl1), to promote the release of eukaryotic initiation factor 6 (eIF6) from the late-stage cytoplasmic 60S precursors. In the present work, we characterized, both biochemically and structurally, the interaction between the 60S subunit and SBDS protein (Sdo1p) from yeast. Our data show that Sdo1p interacts tightly with the mature 60S subunit in vitro through its domain I and II, and is capable of bridging two 60S subunits to form a stable 2:2 dimer. Structural analysis indicates that Sdo1p bind to the ribosomal P-site, in the proximity of uL16 and uL5, and with direct contact to H69 and H38. The dynamic nature of Sdo1p on the 60S subunit, together with its strategic binding position, suggests a surveillance role of Sdo1p in monitoring the conformational maturation of the ribosomal P-site. Altogether, our data support a conformational signal-relay cascade during late-stage 60S maturation, involving uL16, Sdo1p, and Efl1p, which interrogates the functional P-site to control the departure of the anti-association factor eIF6.     

More constraint on ParaHox than Hox gene families in early metazoan evolution

Hox and ParaHox (H/P) genes belong to evolutionary-sister clusters that arose through duplication of a ProtoHOX cluster early in animal evolution. In contrast to bilaterians, cnidarians express, beside PG1, PG2 and Gsx orthologs, numerous Hox-related genes with unclear origin. We characterized from marine hydrozoans three novel Hox-related genes expressed at medusa and polyp stages, which include a Pdx/Xlox ParaHox ortholog induced 1 day later than Gsx during embryonic development. To reconstruct H/P genes' early evolution, we performed multiple systematic comparative phylogenetic analyses, which identified derived sequences that blur the phylogenetic picture, recorded dramatically different evolutionary rates between ParaHox and Hox in cnidarians and showed the unexpected grouping of [Gsx-Pdx/Xlox-PG2-PG3] families in a single metagroup distinct from PG1. We propose a novel more parsimonious evolutionary scenario whereby H/P genes originated from a [Gsx-Pdx/Xlox-PG2-PG3]-related ProtoHox gene, the «posterior» and «anterior» H/P genes appearing secondarily. The ProtoHOX cluster would have contained the three Gsx/PG2, Pdx/PG3, Cdx/PG9 paralogs and produced through tandem duplication the primordial HOX and ParaHOX clusters in the Cnidaria-Bilateria ancestor. The stronger constraint on cnidarian ParaHox genes suggests that the primary function of pre-bilaterian H/P genes was to drive cellular evolutionary novelties such as neurogenesis rather than axis specification.     

Characterization of the Trypanosoma cruzi ortholog of the SBDS protein reveals an intrinsically disordered extended C-terminal region showing RNA-interacting activity

The human SBDS gene and its yeast ortholog SDO1 encode essential proteins that are involved in ribosome biosynthesis. SDO1 has been implicated in recycling of the ribosomal biogenesis factor Tif6p from pre-66S particles as well as in translation activation of 60S ribosomes. The SBDS protein is highly conserved, containing approximately 250 amino acid residues in animals, fungi and Archaea, while SBDS orthologs of plants and a group of protists contain an extended C-terminal region. In this work, we describe the characterization of the Trypanosoma cruzi SBDS ortholog (TcSBDS). TcSBDS co-fractionates with polysomes in sucrose density gradients, which is consistent with a role in ribosome biosynthesis. We show that TcSBDS contains a C-terminal extension of 200 amino acids that displays the features of intrinsically disordered proteins as determined by proteolytic, circular dichroism and NMR analyses. Interestingly, the C-terminal extension is responsible for TcSBDS–RNA interaction activity in electrophoretic mobility shift assays. This finding suggests that Trypanosomatidae and possibly also other organisms containing SBDS with extended C-terminal regions have evolved an additional function for SBDS in ribosome biogenesis.     

系统发育谱构建方法研究

随着后基因组时代的到来,系统发育谱方法作为一种非同源性的功能注释方法,已经被成功的应用到基因组功能预测、蛋白质相互作用预测等一些重要领域的研究中去。本文阐述了系统发育谱法的基本原理,详细地介绍了现有的几种系统发育谱的构建方法,并提出了利用ortholog来构建基因的系统发育谱的思想。     

直系同源基因的识别方法与数据库

直系同源(orthology)是指由于物种形成事件而享有共同祖先的基因之间的关系,直系同源基因之间通常具有相似的结构和生物学功能.由于基因组和转录组序列的快速积累,精确的识别直系同源基因有助于功能基因的注释,比较和进化基因组学研究.综述了现有的识别直系同源基因的主要方法,并列举了由此构建的数据库.这些方法可以归纳为三大类,第一类是基于序列相似性的方法,具有识别速度快以及灵敏度高等优点;第二类是基于构建系统发育树的方法,具有准确性高和信息量大等优点;第三类是将上述两种方法结合起来的混合方法,更好地平衡了灵敏性和准确性.最后总结了识别过程所面临的问题.     

Phylogeny, sequence conservation, and functional complementation of the SBDS protein family

The Shwachman-Bodian-Diamond syndrome (SBDS) protein family occurs widely in nature, although its function has not been determined. Comprehensive database searches revealed SBDS homologues from 159 species, including examples from all sequenced archaeal and eukaryotic genomes and all eukaryotic kingdoms. Sequence alignment with ClustalX and MUSCLE algorithms led to the identification of conserved residues that occurred predominantly in the amino-terminal FYSH domain where they appeared to contribute to protein folding or stability. Only SBDS residue Gly91 was invariant in all species. Four distantly related protists were found to have two divergent SBDS genes in their genomes. In each case, phylogenetic analyses and the identification of shared sequence features suggested that one gene was derived from lateral gene transfer. We also identified a shared C-terminal zinc finger domain fusion in flowering plants and chromalveolates that may shed light on the function of the protein family and the evolutionary histories of these kingdoms. To assess the extent of SBDS functional conservation, we carried out complementation studies of SBDS homologues and interspecies chimeras in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We determined that the FYSH domain was widely interchangeable among eukaryotes, while domain 2 imparted species specificity to protein function. Domain 3 was largely dispensable for function in our yeast complementation assay. Overall, the phylogeny of SBDS was shared with a group of proteins that were markedly enriched for RNA metabolism and/or ribosome-associated functions. These findings link Shwachman-Diamond syndrome to other bone marrow failure syndromes with defects in nucleolus-associated processes, including Diamond-Blackfan anemia, cartilage-hair hypoplasia, and dyskeratosis congenita.     

Evolutionary convergence in adaptation of proteins to temperature: A4-lactate dehydrogenases of Pacific damselfishes (Chromis spp.)

We have compared the kinetic properties (Michaelis-Menten constant [K(m)] and catalytic rate constant [k(cat)]) and amino acid sequences of orthologs of lactate dehydrogenase-A (A(4)-LDH) from congeners of Pacific damselfishes (genus Chromis) native to cold-temperate and tropical habitats to elucidate mechanisms of enzymatic adaptation to temperature. Specifically, we determined whether the sites of adaptive variation and the types of amino acids involved in substitutions at these sites were similar in the Chromis orthologs and other orthologs of warm-adapted and cold-adapted A(4)-LDH previously studied. We report striking evolutionary convergence in temperature adaptation of this protein and present further support for the hypothesis that enzyme adaptation to temperature involves subtle amino acid changes at a few sites that affect the mobility of the portions of the enzyme that are involved in rate-determining catalytic conformational changes. We tested the predicted effects of differences in sequence using site-directed mutagenesis. A single amino acid substitution in a key hinge region of the A(4)-LDH molecule is sufficient to change the kinetic characteristics of a temperate A(4)-LDH to that of a tropical ortholog. This substitution is at the same location that was identified in previous studies of adaptive variation in A(4)-LDH and was hypothesized to be important in adjusting K(m) and k(cat). Our results suggest that certain sites within an enzyme, notably those that establish the energy changes associated with rate-limiting movements of protein structure during catalysis, are "hot spots" of adaptation and that common types of amino acid substitutions occur at these sites to adapt structural "flexibility" and kinetic properties. Thus, despite the wide array of options that proteins have to adjust their structural stabilities in the face of thermal stress, the adaptive changes that couple "flexibility" to alterations of function may be limited in their diversity.     

Molecular cloning of AtMMH , an Arabidopsis thaliana ortholog of the Escherichia coli mutM gene, and analysis of functional domains of its product

We isolated and characterized cDNAs and a genomic clone encoding an Arabidopsis thaliana MutM homolog (AtMMH). AtMMH is a single-copy gene spanning about 3 kb in the nuclear genome, and comprises ten exons. The AtMMH gene encodes two types of mRNA (AtMMH-1 and AtMMH-2) formed by alternative splicing of exon 8. Western analysis of a crude extract from leaves of A. thaliana, using polyclonal antibodies against the recombinant proteins, demonstrated the presence in vivo of a single 44-kDa polypeptide that comigrates with the product of in vitro translation of the AtMMH-1 mRNA. AtMMH-1 protein prepared in vitro is able to nick double- stranded oligonucleotides containing 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG) and to bind such oligonucleotides, as does the Escherichia coli MutM protein, which possesses 8-oxoG DNA glycosylase and apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) lyase activities. Deletion of six amino acids (PELPEV), which are conserved among all known MutM homologs, from the N-terminal end of the AtMMH-1 protein abolishes its nicking but not its DNA-binding activity, indicating that these residues are essential for catalytic activity. Although the AtMMH-1 protein has a unique structure at its C-terminal end, which consists of alternating repeats of basic and acidic amino acids, this structure is dispensable for activity. However, the adjacent amino acid sequence (residues 268 to 281) is essential for repair activity. Received: 18 May 1998 / Accepted: 18 June 1998     

Identifying evolutionarily conserved genes in the dietary restriction response using bioinformatics and subsequent testing in Caenorhabditis elegans

Dietary restriction (DR) increases life span, health span and resistance to stress in a wide range of organisms. Work from a large number of laboratories has revealed evolutionarily conserved mechanisms that mediate the DR response. Here, we analyzed the genome-wide gene expression profiles of Caenorhabditis elegans under DR versus ad libitum conditions. Using the Ortho2ExpressMatrix tool, we searched for C. elegans orthologs of mouse genes that have been shown to be differentially expressed under DR conditions in nearly 600 experiments. Based on our bioinformatic approaches, we obtained 189 DR-responsive genes, and 45 of these are highly conserved from worm to man. Subsequent testing of sixteen genes that are up-regulated under DR identified eight genes that abolish the DR-induced resistance to heat stress in C. elegans. Further analyses revealed that fkb-4, dod-22 and ikb-1 genes also abolish increased life span in response to DR. The identified genes that are necessary for the DR response are sensitive to certain stress signals such as metabolic perturbances (dod-22, fkb-4 and nhr-85), DNA damage (ikb-1), heat shock (hsp-12.6) and cancer-like overgrowth (prk-2 and tsp-15). We propose that most of the DR-responsive genes identified are components of the recently discovered cellular surveillance-activated detoxification and defenses pathway, which is, among others, important for the survival of organisms in times of food deprivation.

Electronic supplementary material

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