Ribosome Ribozyme

The discovery of ribozymes (Section 28.11) in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Sidney Altman of Yale University and Thomas Cech of the University of Colorado placed the RNA World idea on a more solid footing. Altman and Cech independently discovered that RNA can catalyze the formation and cleavage of phosphodiester bonds—exactly the kinds of bonds that unite individual ribonucleotides in RNA. That, plus the recent discovery that ribosomal RNA catalyzes the addition of amino acids to the growing peptide chain in protein biosynthesis, takes care of the most serious deficiencies in the RNA World model by providing precedents for the catalysis of biological processes by RNA. 

The atomic structure of this subunit and its complexes with substrate analogs revealed the enzymatic activity of the rRNA backbone. Thus, the ribosome is in fact a ribozyme P Nissen, J Hansen, N Ban, PB Moore, TA Steitz. Science 289 920-930, 2000. Atomic structure of the ribosome s small 30S subunit, resolved at 5 A WM Clemons Jr, JL May, BT Wimberly, JP McCutcheon, MS Capel, V Ramakrishnan. Nature 400 833-840, 1999. The 8-A crystal structure of the 70S ribosome reveals a double-helical RNA bridge between the 50S and the 30S subunit GM Culver, JH Cate, GZ Yusupova, MM Yusupov, HF Noller. Science 285 2133-2136, 1999. 

In addition to the catalytic action served by the snRNAs in the formation of mRNA, several other enzymatic functions have been attributed to RNA. Ribozymes are RNA molecules with catalytic activity. These generally involve transesterification reactions, and most are concerned with RNA metabofism (spfic-ing and endoribonuclease). Recently, a ribosomal RNA component was noted to hydrolyze an aminoacyl ester and thus to play a central role in peptide bond function (peptidyl transferases see Chapter 38). These observations, made in organelles from plants, yeast, viruses, and higher eukaryotic cells, show that RNA can act as an enzyme. This has revolutionized thinking about enzyme action and the origin of life itself. 

The a-amino group of the new aminoacyl-tRNA in the A site carries out a nucleophilic attack on the esterified carboxyl group of the peptidyl-tRNA occupying the P site (peptidyl or polypeptide site). At initiation, this site is occupied by aminoacyl-tRNA mef. This reaction is catalyzed by a peptidyltransferase, a component of the 285 RNA of the 605 ribosomal subunit. This is another example of ribozyme activity and indicates an important—and previously unsuspected—direct role for RNA in protein synthesis (Table 38-3). Because the amino acid on the aminoacyl-tRNA is already activated, no further energy source is required for this reaction. The reaction results in attachment of the growing peptide chain to the tRNA in the A site. 

The ribosome is a ribozyme this is how Cech (2000) commented on the report by Nissen et al. (2000) in Science on the successful proof of ribozyme action in the formation of the peptide bond at the ribosome. It has been known for more than 30 years that in the living cell, the peptidyl transferase activity of the ribosome is responsible for the formation of the peptide bond. This process, which takes place at the large ribosome subunit, is the most important reaction of protein biosynthesis. The determination of the molecular mechanism required more than 20 years of intensive work in several research laboratories. The key components in the ribosomes of all life forms on Earth are almost the same. It thus seems justified to assume that protein synthesis in a (still unknown) common ancestor of all living systems was catalysed by a similarly structured unit. For example, in the case of the bacterium E. coli, the two subunits which form the ribosome consist of 3 rRNA strands and 57 polypeptides. Until the beginning of the 1980s it was considered certain that the formation of the peptide bond at the ribozyme could only be carried out by ri-bosomal proteins. However, doubts were expressed soon after the discovery of the ribozymes, and the possibility of the participation of ribozymes in peptide formation was discussed. 

Ribosomes, 3 30 Riboswitches, 17 621 Ribozyme Pharmaceutical-University of Colorado partnership, 24 390, 399 00... 

The peptidyl transferase centre of the ribosome is located in the 50S subunit, in a protein-free environment (there is no protein within 15 A of the active site), supporting biochemical evidence that the ribosomal RNA, rather than the ribosomal proteins, plays a key role in the catalysis of peptide bond formation. This confirms that the ribosome is the largest known RNA catalyst (ribozyme) and, to date, the only one with synthetic activity. Adjacent to the peptidyl transferase centre is the entrance to the protein exit tunnel, through which the growing polypeptide chain moves out of the ribosome. 

Fig. 11. Comparison of the peptidyl transfer reaction in the ribosome and in the selected peptidyltransferase ribozyme. The ribosome contains a binding site for the peptidyl-tRNA (P-site) and for the aminoacyl-tRNA (A-site). In the selected ribozyme the binding site for the AMP-Met-Bio substrate would be analogous to the P-site. The attacking a-amino group which is bound in the A-site in the ribosome is covalently attached to the 5 -end in the ribozyme. Catalytically active RNAs preferentially attach the biotin tag onto themselves and can thus be separated from the inactive ones...

The ribosome is both the site of protein synthesis and an active participant in the process. The eukaryotic ribosome is constructed from two subunits the smaller 40S subunit and the larger 60S subunit. Basically, the 40S subunit binds the mRNA and monitors the recognihon between the mRNA codon and tRNA anticodon. The 60S subunit has the binding sites for aminoacyl-tRNAs and catalyzes the formation of peptide bonds. Remarkably, the catalytic entity for peptide bond formahon in the 60S subunit is the RNA component, not the protein component. Therefore, the 60S subunit acts as a ribozyme. 

In this review, we emphasize the mechanism responsible for the action of cleavage of RNA by representative naturally-existing ribozymes after an explanation of non-enzymatic cleavage of RNA. We would also like to refer to the mechanisms of the spliceosome and ribosomes as ribozymes. 

The origin of the idea that a ribosome might be a ribozyme is derived from the experiment in which peptidyl transferase activity was observed even after digestion of protein components of the ribosome [15]. This was surprising because the most important biological function involved in the synthesis of proteins is catalyzed by RNA. Recently, a large ribosomal subunit from Haloarcula marismortui was determined at a resolution of 2.4 A [16, 155]. Importantly, because of the absence of proteins at the active site, it was concluded that the key peptidyl transferase reaction is accomplished by the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) itself, not by proteins. How does it work ... 

Synthesis of the peptide bond takes place in the next step. Ribosomal peptidyl-transferase catalyzes (without consumption of ATP or GTP) the transfer of the peptide chain from the tRNA at the P site to the NH2 group of the amino acid residue of the tRNA at the A site. The ribosome s peptidyltransferase activity is not located in one of the ribosomal proteins, but in the 28 S rRNA. Catalytically active RNAs of this type are known as ribo-zymes (cf. p. 246). It is thought that the few surviving ribozymes are remnants of the RNA world"—an early phase of evolution in which proteins were not as important as they are today. 

During the previous few years, the number of RNA crystal structures has increased in an exponential manner. This is mainly due to the fact that RNA is increasingly viewed as a predominant part of biological processes such as translation, ribozyme catalysis, and gene regulation (RNAi (Kamath et ah, 2003), riboswitches (Barrick et ah, 2004), and mRNA-protein interactions (Lescure et ah, 2002)), for which the gap in structural knowledge is still deep despite the determination of the crystal structure of the ribosome (Clemons et ah, 2001 Ban et ah, 2000 Yusupov et ah, 2001). 

Figure 11.3 The simplest RNA cell, consisting of two ribozymes (two RNA-genes provided with enzymatic activity). Rib-1 (ribosome 1) and Rib-2 (ribosome 2), whose concerted action permits shell and core replication. Rib-1 is an RNA repli-case, capable of making copies of itself and of Rib-2. Rib-2 makes the lipid membrane, converting precursor A to surfactant S. Being based on RNA replication, it is also able to evolve. (Adapted from Szostak et al., 2001 see also Luisi et al, 2002.)...

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