title: Crystal structure and functional analysis of an archaeal chromatin protein Alba from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3.
abstract: The crystal structure of the Alba protein (PhoAlba) from a hyperthermophilic archaeon, Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3, was determined at a resolution of 2.8 A. PhoAlba structurally belongs to the alpha/beta proteins and is similar not only to archaeal homologues but also to RNA-binding proteins, including the C-terminal half of initiation factor 3 (IF3-C) from Bacillus stearothermophilus, an Esherichia coli protein implicated in cell division (Yhhp), and an Arabidopsis protein of unknown function. We found by gel shift assay that PhoAlba interacts with both ribonuclease P (RNase P) RNA (PhopRNA) and precursor-tRNA(Tyr) (pre-tRNA(Tyr)) in P. horikoshii. However, the addition of PhoAlba to reconstituted particles composed of PhopRNA and four or five protein subunits had little influence on either the pre-tRNA processing activity or the optimum temperature for the processing activity. These results suggest that PhoAlba contributes little to the catalytic activity of P. horikoshii RNase P.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Structural Biology, Graduate School of Systems Life Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazumasa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hada
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.forename: Takuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Osawa
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: Yoshimitsu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kakuta
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kimura
mesh_terms: D019843:Archaeal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D043902:Pyrococcus horikoshii / Q000737:chemistry*; D012322:RNA Precursors / Q000378:metabolism; D019642:RNA, Archaeal / Q000378:metabolism; D012365:RNA, Transfer, Tyr / Q000378:metabolism; D043262:Ribonuclease P / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019843:Archaeal Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D012322:RNA Precursors; D019642:RNA, Archaeal; D012365:RNA, Transfer, Tyr; C030449:pre-tRNA(Tyr); D043262:Ribonuclease P