Ribonuclease P (RNase P) catalyzes the maturation of the 5′ end of tRNA precursors. Typically these enzymes are ribonucleoproteins with a conserved RNA component responsible for catalysis. However, protein-only RNase P (PRORP) enzymes process precursor tRNAs in human mitochondria and in all tRNA-using compartments of Arabidopsis thaliana. PRORP enzymes are nuclear encoded and conserved among many eukaryotes, having evolved recently as yeast mitochondrial genomes encode an RNase P RNA. Here we report the crystal structure of PRORP1 from A. thaliana at 1.75 Å resolution, revealing a prototypical metallonuclease domain tethered to a pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) domain by a structural zinc-binding domain. The metallonuclease domain is a unique high-resolution structure of a Nedd4-BP1, YacP Nucleases (NYN) domain that is a member of the PIN domain-like fold superfamily, including the FLAP nuclease family. The structural similarity between PRORP1 and the FLAP nuclease family suggests that they evolved from a common ancestor. Biochemical data reveal that conserved aspartate residues in PRORP1 are important for catalytic activity and metal binding and that the PPR domain also enhances activity, likely through an interaction with pre-tRNA. These results provide a foundation for understanding tRNA maturation in organelles. Furthermore, these studies allow for a molecular-level comparison of the catalytic strategies used by the only known naturally evolved protein and RNA-based catalysts that perform the same biological function, pre-tRNA maturation, thereby providing insight into the differences between the prebiotic RNA world and the present protein-dominated world.catalytic mechanism | magnesium | molecular recognition A ccording to the RNA world hypothesis, RNA played dual roles as carrier of genetic information and catalyst in a prebiotic world. However, over eons of evolution, proteins with their expanded 20-aa alphabet and greater structural and functional complexity took over many RNA-based functions. Structural insights into this evolutionary transition are limited because of the lack of examples of RNA and protein macromolecules that perform the same biological function in nature. One notable exception is ribonuclease P (RNase P) that catalyzes maturation of the 5′ end of tRNA across all domains of life. Until recently, all known RNase P enzymes included a catalytic RNA component. The discovery of a protein-only RNase P [proteinacous RNase P (PRORP)] from human mitochondria and Arabidopsis thaliana has dramatically shifted this paradigm (1-3). These enzymes represent a unique class of metallonucleases and are conserved among many eukaroytes (1, 2). A. thaliana encodes three PRORP enzymes (PRORP1, -2, and -3) that catalyze pretRNA processing (2). PRORP1 localizes to the mitochondria and chloroplast whereas PRORP2 and PRORP3 localize to the nucleus (2), suggesting that protein-based enzymes catalyze pretRNA maturation in these cellular locations (2, 3). To gain mechanistic and evolutionary insights into the PRORP...

No abstract

A first step in processing mitochondrial precursor tRNA (pre-tRNA) is cleavage of the 5' leader catalyzed by ribonuclease P (RNase P). Human mitochondrial RNase P (mtRNase P) is composed of three protein subunits: mitochondrial RNase P protein (MRPP) 1, 2 and 3. Even though MRPP3 is the metallonuclease subunit responsible for catalysis, cleavage is observed only in the presence of the MRPP1/2 subcomplex. To understand the functional role of MRPP1/2, we reconstituted human mitochondrial RNase P in vitro and performed kinetic and thermodynamic analyses. MRPP1/2 significantly enhances both the catalytic activity and the apparent substrate affinity of mtRNase P. Additionally, pull-down and binding data demonstrate synergy between binding pre-tRNA and formation of a catalytically active MRPP1/2/3 complex. These data suggest that conformational changes in the MRPP1/2-pre-tRNA complex lead to protein-protein or protein-RNA interactions that increase both MRPP3 recognition and cleavage efficiency. This work presents the first kinetic model for human mtRNase P, providing a fundamental framework for the function of † The authors wish it to be known that, in their opinion, the first two authors should be regarded as joint First Authors.