Article
- The EMBO Journal (2006) 25, 2487 - 2497
- doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7601128
Published online: 18 May 2006
Subject Categories:
Molecular basis for temperature sensing by an RNA thermometer
Saheli Chowdhury1,2,3,a, Christophe Maris1,a, Frédéric H-T Allain1 and Franz Narberhaus2,3
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Lehrstuhl für Biologie der Mikroorganismen, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany
Correspondence to:
Franz Narberhaus, Lehrstuhl für Biologie der Mikroorganismen, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, NDEF 06/783, 44780 Bochum, Germany. Tel.: +49 0234 322 3100; Fax: +49 0234 321 4620; E-mail: franz.narberhaus@rub.de
Frédéric H-T Allain, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland. Tel.: +41 (0) 44 63 33940; Fax: +41 (0) 44 63 31294; E-mail: allain@mol.biol.ethz.ch
aThese authors contributed equally to this work
Received 15 December 2005; Accepted 11 April 2006
Abstract
Regulatory RNA elements, like riboswitches, respond to intracellular signals by three-dimensional (3D) conformational changes. RNA thermometers employ a similar strategy to sense temperature changes in the cell and regulate the translational machinery. We present here the first 3D NMR structure of the functional domain of a highly conserved bacterial RNA thermometer containing the ribosome binding site that remains occluded at normal temperatures (30°C). We identified a region adjacent to the Shine–Dalgarno sequence that has a network of weak hydrogen bonds within the RNA helix. With the onset of heat shock at 42°C, destabilisation of the RNA structure initiates at this region and favours the release of the ribosome binding site and of the start codon. Deletion of a highly conserved G residue leads to the formation of a stable regular RNA helix that loses thermosensing ability. Our results indicate that RNA thermometers are able to sense temperature changes without the aid of accessory factors.
Keywords:
- NMR,
- ribosome binding,
- riboswitch,
- RNA structure,
- RNA thermometer,
- 5'-UTR
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