Mukherjee Saikat, Basu Sudarshana, Home Pratik, Dhar Gunjan, Adhya Samit
Genetic Engineering Laboratory, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4 Raja S.C. Mullick Road, Calcutta 700032, India.
EMBO Rep. 2007 Jun;8(6):589-95. doi: 10.1038/sj.embor.7400979. Epub 2007 May 18.
The mechanism of active transport of transfer RNA (tRNA) across membranes is largely unknown. Factors mediating the import of tRNA into the kinetoplast mitochondrion of the protozoon Leishmania tropica are organized into a multiprotein RNA import complex (RIC) at the inner membrane. Here, we present the complete characterization of the identities and functions of the subunits of this complex. The complex contains three mitochondrion- and eight nuclear-encoded subunits; six of the latter are necessary and sufficient for import. Antisense-mediated knockdown of essential subunits resulted in the depletion of mitochondrial tRNAs and inhibition of organellar translation. Functional complexes were reconstituted with recombinant subunits expressed in Escherichia coli. Several essential RIC subunits are identical to specific subunits of respiratory complexes. These findings provide new information on the evolution of tRNA import and the foundation for detailed structural and mechanistic studies.
转运核糖核酸(tRNA)跨膜主动运输的机制在很大程度上尚不清楚。介导tRNA导入热带利什曼原虫动质体线粒体的因子在内膜处组装成一个多蛋白RNA导入复合物(RIC)。在此,我们展示了该复合物亚基的身份和功能的完整特征。该复合物包含三个线粒体编码亚基和八个核编码亚基;后者中的六个对于导入是必需且足够的。通过反义介导敲低必需亚基导致线粒体tRNA耗竭并抑制细胞器翻译。用在大肠杆菌中表达的重组亚基重建了功能复合物。几个必需的RIC亚基与呼吸复合物的特定亚基相同。这些发现为tRNA导入的进化提供了新信息,并为详细的结构和机制研究奠定了基础。