title: Structure of the essential MTERF4:NSUN4 protein complex reveals how an MTERF protein collaborates to facilitate rRNA modification.
abstract: MTERF4 is the first MTERF family member shown to bind RNA and plays an essential role as a regulator of ribosomal biogenesis in mammalian mitochondria. It forms a complex with the rRNA methyltransferase NSUN4 and recruits it to the large ribosomal subunit. In this article, we characterize the interaction between both proteins, demonstrate that MTERF4 strongly stimulates the specificity of NSUN4 during in vitro methylation experiments, and present the 2.0 Å resolution crystal structure of the MTERF4:NSUN4 protein complex, lacking 48 residues of the MTERF4 C-terminal acidic tail, bound to S-adenosyl-L-methionine, thus revealing the nature of the interaction between both proteins and the structural conservation of the most divergent of the human MTERF family members. Moreover, the structure suggests a model for RNA binding by the MTERF4:NSUN4 complex, providing insight into the mechanism by which an MTERF family member facilitates rRNA methylation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yakubovskaya
authors.forename: Kip E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Guja
authors.forename: Edison
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mejia
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Castano
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hambardjieva
authors.forename: Woo Suk
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garcia-Diaz
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D008780:Methyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011485:Protein Binding; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C560500:MTERF4 protein, human; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal; D014157:Transcription Factors; D008780:Methyltransferases; C576665:NSUN4 protein, human