Publication Date:
2015-12-16
Description:
Upon infection of Escherichia coli by bacteriophage Qβ, the virus-encoded β-subunit recruits host translation elongation factors EF-Tu and EF-Ts and ribosomal protein S1 to form the Qβ replicase holoenzyme complex, which is responsible for amplifying the Qβ (+)-RNA genome. Here, we use X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, as well as sequence conservation, surface electrostatic potential and mutational analyses to decipher the roles of the β-subunit and the first two oligonucleotide-oligosaccharide-binding domains of S1 (OB 1–2 ) in the recognition of Qβ (+)-RNA by the Qβ replicase complex. We show how three basic residues of the β subunit form a patch located adjacent to the OB 2 domain, and use NMR spectroscopy to demonstrate for the first time that OB 2 is able to interact with RNA. Neutralization of the basic residues by mutagenesis results in a loss of both the phage infectivity in vivo and the ability of Qβ replicase to amplify the genomic RNA in vitro . In contrast, replication of smaller replicable RNAs is not affected. Taken together, our data suggest that the β-subunit and protein S1 cooperatively bind the (+)-stranded Qβ genome during replication initiation and provide a foundation for understanding template discrimination during replication initiation.
Print ISSN:
0305-1048
Electronic ISSN:
1362-4962
Topics:
Biology
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