title: Programmable design of functional ribonucleoprotein complexes.
abstract: Ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes are widespread in nature and play crucial roles in gene regulation, RNA processing, and translation. Novel technologies, such as CRISPR-mediated genome engineering, stress the potential of RNP complexes to carry out complex tasks in molecular biology. Here we report a bottom-up approach for the programmable self-assembly of RNP complexes. The building blocks for RNP complex formation are RNAs and Pumilio proteins that can bind to RNA sequence-specifically. Correct RNP assembly triggers protein complementation of a tripartite GFP, thereby resulting in up to 25-fold increased fluorescence, and is strictly dependent on the correct RNA sequences. Our results indicate that Pumilio and guide RNAs are suitable building blocks for the correct self-assembly of RNP complexes consisting of up to six different components. Self-assembling RNP complexes might prove useful for complex biotechnological applications in RNA sensing, imaging, or processing.
authors.affiliation: University of Hamburg, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 6, 20146 Hamburg (Germany).
authors.forename: Anna K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Rath
authors.forename: Stefanie J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kellermann
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rentmeister
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005453:Fluorescence; D051379:Mice; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012261:Ribonucleoproteins
keywords: Pumilio; RNA; protein complementation; ribonucleoprotein complexes; self-assembly