title: Pathway of activation by magnesium ions of substrates for the catalytic subunit of RNase P from Escherichia coli.
abstract: The pathway is described for activation by Mg2+ of substrates for M1 RNA, the catalytic subunit of the RNase P from Escherichia coli. The dissociation constants are reported for binding of Mg2+ to the substrate and for the binding of the metal ion-substrate complex to the enzyme. The enzyme binds the substrate with the same affinity whether or not Mg2+ is already bound to the substate. However, only substrates with bound Mg2+ can make a productive ternary complex when combined with the enzyme. The presence of certain 2'-hydroxyl groups in the substrate is required to stabilize the binding of Mg2+ and, thereby, to increase the lifetime of the ternary complex. An energy profile for the reaction of M1 RNA with a small model substrate is presented and the role of Mg2+ bound to the substrate is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Perreault
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Altman
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004722:Endoribonucleases / Q000378:metabolism*; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D008274:Magnesium / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D011485:Protein Binding; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D016337:RNA, Catalytic / Q000378:metabolism*; D043262:Ribonuclease P; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D016337:RNA, Catalytic; D004722:Endoribonucleases; D043262:Ribonuclease P; C470865:ribonuclease P, E coli; D008274:Magnesium