title: Basic amino acids in a distinct subset of signal peptides promote interaction with the signal recognition particle.
abstract: Previous studies have demonstrated that signal peptides bind to the signal recognition particle (SRP) primarily via hydrophobic interactions with the 54-kDa protein subunit. The crystal structure of the conserved SRP ribonucleoprotein core, however, raised the surprising possibility that electrostatic interactions between basic amino acids in signal peptides and the phosphate backbone of SRP RNA may also play a role in signal sequence recognition. To test this possibility we examined the degree to which basic amino acids in a signal peptide influence the targeting of two Escherichia coli proteins, maltose binding protein and OmpA. Whereas both proteins are normally targeted to the inner membrane by SecB, we found that replacement of their native signal peptides with another moderately hydrophobic but unusually basic signal peptide (DeltaEspP) rerouted them into the SRP pathway. Reduction in either the net positive charge or the hydrophobicity of the DeltaEspP signal peptide decreased the effectiveness of SRP recognition. A high degree of hydrophobicity, however, compensated for the loss of basic residues and restored SRP binding. Taken together, the data suggest that the formation of salt bridges between SRP RNA and basic amino acids facilitates the binding of a distinct subset of signal peptides whose hydrophobicity falls slightly below a threshold level.
authors.affiliation: Genetics and Biochemistry Branch, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-0538, USA.
authors.forename: Janine H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: Cheryl A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Woolhead
authors.forename: Harris D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Bernstein
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000494:pharmacology; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D008024:Ligands; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D010957:Plasmids / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D018271:Signal Recognition Particle; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D008024:Ligands; D010455:Peptides; C057842:SecB protein, Bacteria; D018271:Signal Recognition Particle; C078167:OMPA outer membrane proteins