Protein glycosylation regulates many cellular processes. Numerous glycosyltransferases with broad substrate specificities have been structurally characterized. A novel inverting glycosyltransferase, EarP, specifically transfers rhamnose from dTDP-β-L-rhamnose to Arg32 of bacterial translation elongation factor P (EF-P) to activate its function. Here we report a crystallographic study of Neisseria meningitidis EarP. The EarP structure contains two tandem Rossmann-fold domains, which classifies EarP in glycosyltransferase superfamily B. In contrast to other structurally characterized protein glycosyltransferases, EarP binds the entire β-sheet structure of EF-P domain I through numerous interactions that specifically recognize its conserved residues. Thus Arg32 is properly located at the active site, and causes structural change in a conserved dTDP-β-L-rhamnose-binding loop of EarP. Rhamnosylation by EarP should occur via an S2 reaction, with Asp20 as the general base. The Arg32 binding and accompanying structural change of EarP may induce a change in the rhamnose-ring conformation suitable for the reaction.
Methods for fluorescent probing at a defined position of RNA provide powerful tools for analyzing the local structural conformation of functional RNA molecules by tracking fluorescence changes. In this article, we describe the site-specific fluorescent probing of RNA by transcription with an expanded genetic alphabet, using an extra, unnatural base pair between 2-amino-6-(2-thienyl)purine (s) and pyrrole-2-carbaldehyde (Pa). The protocol comprises template DNA preparation containing Pa, transcription involving fluorescent s incorporation and structural analysis of transcripts. The s base is strongly fluorescent, and its nucleoside 5'-triphosphate is site-specifically incorporated into RNA transcripts, opposite Pa in DNA templates, by conventional T7 transcription. The fluorescent intensity of s changes depending on its environment around the probe site, providing clues about the local structural features of RNA molecules. This is the first protocol for RNA transcript preparation with fluorescent labeling at a desired position. The procedure for s-containing RNA preparation takes about 2-3 d.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.