Characterization of the RNase P RNA of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius.
RNase P is the ribonucleoprotein enzyme that cleaves precursor sequences from the 5' ends of pre-tRNAs. In Bacteria, the RNA subunit is the catalytic moiety. Eucaryal and archaeal RNase P activities copurify with RNAs, which have not been shown to be catalytic. We report here the analysis of the RNase P RNA from the thermoacidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. The holoenzyme was highly purified, and extracted RNA was used to identify the RNase P RNA gene. The nucleotide sequence of the gene was determined, and a secondary structure is proposed. The RNA was not observed to be catalytic by itself, but it nevertheless is similar in sequence and structure to bacterial RNase P RNA. The marked similarity of the RNase P RNA from S. acidocaldarius and that from Haloferax volcanii, the other known archael RNase P RNA, supports the coherence of Archaea as a phylogenetic domain.
LaGrandeur
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Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405.
Darr
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SC
Haas
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Pace
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D001105:Archaea / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004722:Endoribonucleases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016337:RNA, Catalytic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D043262:Ribonuclease P; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D016945:Sulfolobus acidocaldarius / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*
D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D016337:RNA, Catalytic; D004722:Endoribonucleases; D043262:Ribonuclease P