title: Investigating the prevalence of queuine in Escherichia coli RNA via incorporation of the tritium-labeled precursor, preQ(1).
abstract: There are over 100 modified bases that occur in RNA with the majority found in transfer RNA. It has been widely believed that the queuine modification is limited to four transfer RNA species in vivo. However, given the vast amount of the human genome (60-70%) that is transcribed into non-coding RNA (Mattick [10]), probing the presence of modified bases in these RNAs is of fundamental importance. The mechanism of incorporation of queuine, via transglycosylation, makes this uniquely poised to probe base modification in RNA. Results of incubations of Escherichia coli cell cultures with [(3)H] preQ(1) (a queuine precursor in eubacteria) clearly demonstrate preQ(1) incorporation into a number of RNA species of various sizes larger than transfer RNA. Specifically, significant levels of preQ(1) incorporation into ribosomal RNA are observed. The modification of other large RNAs was also observed. These results confirm that non-coding RNAs contain modified bases and lead to the supposition that these modifications are necessary to control non-coding RNA structure and function as has been shown for transfer RNA.
authors: Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan, 428 Church St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1065, USA.
authors: Allen F
authors: AF
authors: Brooks
authors: Carol S
authors: CS
authors: Vélez-Martínez
authors: H D Hollis
authors: HD
authors: Showalter
authors: George A
authors: GA
authors: Garcia
mesh_terms: D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000737:chemistry; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism*; D006147:Guanine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis; D007553:Isotope Labeling; D011744:Pyrimidinones / Q000737:chemistry*; D011758:Pyrroles / Q000737:chemistry*; D012323:RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry*; D012343:RNA, Transfer / Q000737:chemistry; D014316:Tritium / Q000737:chemistry; D000099166:Polyacrylamides
chemical_list: D000180:Acrylic Resins; D006147:Guanine; D011744:Pyrimidinones; D011758:Pyrroles; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012343:RNA, Transfer; D014316:Tritium; D000099166:Polyacrylamides; C096876:7-(aminomethyl)-7-deazaguanine; C019549:queuine