Enzymatic synthesis methods for the fluorinated 5'-triphosphate analogues 5F-UTP and 5F-CTP have been developed to facilitate 19F-labeling of RNAs for biophysical studies. HIV-2 TAR RNAs were synthesized using these analogues by in vitro transcription reactions using T7 RNA polymerase. The uniform incorporation of 5F-U or 5F-C analogues into HIV-2 TAR RNA transcripts does not significantly alter the RNA structure or thermodynamic stability. Fluorine observed homonuclear 19F-19F and heteronuclear 19F-1H NOE experiments providing selective distance information are presented and discussed. The availability of efficient synthesis of 5F-UTP, and for the first time, 5F-CTP, will facilitate the use of 5F-labeled RNAs in structural, ligand binding, and dynamic studies of RNAs using the advantages of 19F-labeling.

The ribosome is an essential organelle responsible for cellular protein synthesis. Until recently, the study of ribosome assembly has been largely limited to in vitro assays, with few attempts to reconcile these results with the more complex in vivo ribosome biogenesis process. Here, we characterize the ribosome synthesis and assembly pathway for each E. coli ribosomal protein (r-protein) in vivo using a stable isotope pulse-labeling timecourse. Isotope incorporation into assembled ribosomes was measured by quantitative mass spectrometry (qMS) and fit using steady-state flux models. Most r-proteins exhibit precursor pools ranging in size from 0% to 7% of completed ribosomes, and that the sizes of these individual r-protein pools correlate well with the order of r-protein binding in vitro. Additionally, we observe anomalously large precursor pools for specific r-proteins with known extra-ribosomal functions and we have detected three r-proteins with significant turnover during steady-state growth. Taken together, this highly precise, time-dependent proteomic qMS approach should prove useful in future studies of ribosome biogenesis and could be easily extended to explore other complex biological processes in a cellular context.

Quantitative proteomic mass spectrometry involves comparison of the amplitudes of peaks resulting from different isotope labeling patterns, including fractional atomic labeling and fractional residue labeling. We have developed a general and flexible analytical treatment of the complex isotope distributions that arise in these experiments, using Fourier transform convolution to calculate labeled isotope distributions and least-squares for quantitative comparison with experimental peaks. The degree of fractional atomic and fractional residue labeling can be determined from experimental peaks at the same time as the integrated intensity of all of the isotopomers in the isotope distribution. The approach is illustrated using data with fractional 15 N-labeling and fractional 13 C-isoleucine labeling. The least-squares Fourier transform convolution approach can be applied to many types of quantitive proteomic data, including data from stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture and pulse labeling experiments.Stable isotope labeling in cells coupled with mass spectrometry has many important applications in the analysis of protein expression, modification, turnover, and metabolism. 1 Cells and organisms can be isotopically labeled by supplying labeled precursors in the form of nutrients such as amino acids, glucose, and ammonia. These labeled precursors are incorporated into proteins, whose resulting isotope labeling patterns reflect their abundance and the dynamics of protein synthesis and turnover. The era of quantitative proteomics began with experiments where mixtures of unlabeled control cells and 15 N-labeled or isotope depleted test cells were quantitatively analyzed to determine protein expression and phosphorylation levels. 2,3 More recently, the SILAC technique was developed based on specific amino acid labeling of cells for quantitative analysis of protein expression, modification, and turnover. 4-6The two basic classes of quantitative metabolic labeling approaches are the stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) experiments and pulse labeling experiments, both of which have been implemented in a variety of ways. 7 In the SILAC method, independent samples are prepared with different labeling patterns that are mixed prior to mass spectrometry analysis. For pulse labeling experiments, labels that are added to the growth medium are taken up to metabolically label the proteome, which generates fractionally enriched proteins from a

Although high-resolution structures of the ribosome have been solved in a series of functional states, relatively little is known about how the ribosome assembles, particularly in vivo. Here, a general method is presented for studying the dynamics of ribosome assembly and ribosomal assembly intermediates. Since significant quantities of assembly intermediates are not present under normal growth conditions, the antibiotic neomycin is used to perturb wild type E. coli. Treatment of E. coli with the antibiotic neomycin results in the accumulation of a continuum of assembly intermediates for both the 30S and 50S subunits. The protein composition and the protein stoichiometry of these intermediates were determined by quantitative mass spectrometry using purified unlabeled and 15N-labeled wild type ribosomes as external standards. The intermediates throughout the continuum are heterogeneous and are largely depleted of late-binding proteins. Pulse labeling with 15N-labeled medium timestamps the ribosomal proteins based on their time of synthesis. The assembly intermediates contain both newly synthesized proteins and proteins that originated in previously synthesized intact subunits. This observation requires either a significant amount of ribosome degradation, or the exchange or reuse of ribosomal proteins. These specific methods can be applied to any system where ribosomal assembly intermediates accumulate, including strains with deletions or mutations of assembly factors. This general approach can be applied to study the dynamics of assembly and turnover of other macromolecular complexes that can be isolated from cells.

Ribosome assembly has been studied intensively using Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) with fluorophore-labeled fragments of RNA produced by chemical synthesis. However, these studies are limited by the size of the accessible RNA fragments. We have developed a replicable unnatural base pair (UBP) formed between (d)5SICS and (d)MMO2 or (d)NaM, which efficiently directs the transcription of RNA containing unnatural nucleotides. We now report the synthesis and evaluation of several of the corresponding ribotriphosphates bearing linkers that enable the chemoselective attachment of different functionalities. We found that the RNA polymerase from T7 bacteriophage does not incorporate NaM derivatives, but does efficiently incorporate 5SICSCO, whose linker enables functional group conjugation via Click chemistry, and when combined with the previously identified MMO2A, whose amine side chains permits conjugation via NHS coupling chemistry, enables site-specific double labeling of transcribed RNA. To study ribosome assembly, we transcribed RNA corresponding to a 243-nt fragment of the central domain of Thermus thermophilus 16S ribosomal RNA containing 5SICSCO and MMO2A at defined locations, and then site-specifically attached the fluorophores Cy3 and Cy5. FRET was characterized using single-molecule total internal reflection fluorescence (smTIRF) microscopy in the presence of various combinations of added ribosomal proteins. We demonstrate that each of the fragment’s two three-helix junctions exist in open and closed states, with the latter favored by sequential protein binding. These results elucidate early and previously uncharacterized folding events underlying ribosome assembly, and demonstrate the applicability of UBPs for biochemical, structural, and functional studies of RNAs.

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Relative levels of ribosomal proteins were quantified in crude cell lysate using mass spectrometry. A method for quantifying cellular protein levels using macromolecular standards is presented that does not require complex sample separation, identification of high-responding peptides, affinity purification or post-growth modifications. Perturbations in ribosomal protein levels by overexpression of individual proteins correlate to known autoregulatory mechanisms and extend the network of ribosomal protein regulation.

The advantages of micropreparative capillary gel electrophoresis include very high resolution, high speed and good recovery, with full automation. Nanomolar quantities of biopolymers, such as complex carbohydrates, can be collected for use in subsequent microsequencing or mass spectrometry. As in other preparative separation processes, the goal in preparative capillary gel electrophoresis is to maximize the production of a product with a given purity in the shortest time, i.e., to achieve the highest throughput. Another important factor is the economics of the operation. The cost of production in preparative capillary electrophoresis is a function of the cost of the automated system, the loading capacity of the capillary column and the system cycle time. Here we suggest a simple economic model for analyzing the economics of preparative capillary electrophoresis. 1539