title: Era, an essential Escherichia coli small G-protein, binds to the 30S ribosomal subunit.
abstract: Era is an essential G-protein in Escherichia coli identified originally as a homologue protein to Ras (E. coli Ras-like protein). It binds to GTP/GDP and contains a low intrinsic GTPase activity. Its function remains elusive, although it has been suggested that Era is associated with the cytoplasmic membrane, cell division, energy metabolism, and cell-cycle check point. Recently, a cold-sensitive phenotype was found to be suppressed by the overexpression of 16S rRNA methyltransferase, suggesting Era association with the ribosome. Here we demonstrate that Era specifically binds to 16S rRNA and the 30S ribosomal subunit. Both GTP and GDP, but not GMP, inhibit Era binding to ribosomal component. Involvement of Era in protein synthesis is suggested by the fact that Era depletion results in the translation defect both in vitro and in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 675 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, New Jersey, 08854, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sayed
authors.forename: S i
authors.initials: Si
authors.lastname: Matsuyama
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inouye
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006157:Guanosine Monophosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D010452:Peptide Biosynthesis; D011485:Protein Binding; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C068027:era protein, E coli; D006157:Guanosine Monophosphate; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins