The principle activity for which this application seeks support is determination of the structures of physiologically important RNAs by NMR and X-ray crystallography. The ultimate objective is a chemical understanding of the biological properties of the RNAs studied. Since RNAs play critical roles in gene expression, the knowledge sought is fundamental to our understanding of processes vital to all organisms, including humans. Two specific problems are to be investigated: the regulation of ribosomal protein synthesis in bacteria, and the pseudouridylation of ribosomal RNA transcripts in eukaryotes. In bacteria, ribosomal protein synthesis is feed-back regulated at the translational level by mechanisms that depend on interactions between specific ribosomal proteins and sequences within the mRNAs that encode them, many of which are polycistronic. The two such systems of immediate concern are the spc operon/S8 system, and L10 operon./L10 system, but time permitting, others will be investigates; e.g. the alpha operon/L4 system. The mRNA sequence critical for the regulation of each ribosomal protein operon will be determined as precisely as possible. Structures will be obtained of the complexes that form between these RNA sequences and the ribosomal proteins that bind to them. Hypotheses about the mechanism of translational repression, formulated on the basis of those structures, will then be tested biochemically. Since bacteria regulate ribosomal protein synthesis by mechanisms unlike those used by eukaryotes, it is conceivable that new ways of specifically inhibiting bacterial growth will be revealed. The second problem to be investigated is posed by the boxH/ACA snoRNP system responsible for pseudouridylating rRNA transcripts in higher organisms. The RNA components of these snRNPs are postulated to interact with sequences in rRNA transcripts in a way that has no precedent in the literature. Biochemical experiments will be done to determine whether RNA/RNA interactions of the sort hypothesized are possible, and structures will be obtained for a snoRNA, with and without an appropriate rRNA sequence bound. ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01GM061258-08
Application #
7253214
Study Section
Molecular and Cellular Biophysics Study Section (BBCA)
Program Officer
Preusch, Peter C
Project Start
2000-07-01
Project End
2009-06-30
Budget Start
2007-07-01
Budget End
2009-06-30
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$313,881
Indirect Cost
Name
Yale University
Department
Chemistry
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
043207562
City
New Haven
State
CT
Country
United States
Zip Code
06520
Jin, Hong; Loria, J Patrick; Moore, Peter B (2007) Solution structure of an rRNA substrate bound to the pseudouridylation pocket of a box H/ACA snoRNA. Mol Cell 26:205-15
Turner, Catherine F; Moore, Peter B (2004) The solution structure of ribosomal protein L18 from Bacillus stearothermophilus. J Mol Biol 335:679-84
Merianos, Helen J; Wang, Jimin; Moore, Peter B (2004) The structure of a ribosomal protein S8/spc operon mRNA complex. RNA 10:954-64
Vallurupalli, Pramodh; Moore, Peter B (2003) The solution structure of the loop E region of the 5S rRNA from spinach chloroplasts. J Mol Biol 325:843-56
Vallurupalli, Pramodh; Moore, Peter B (2002) Measurement of H2'-C2' and H3'-C3' dipolar couplings in RNA molecules. J Biomol NMR 24:63-6
Warren, J J; Moore, P B (2001) A maximum likelihood method for determining D(a)(PQ) and R for sets of dipolar coupling data. J Magn Reson 149:271-5
Huber, P W; Rife, J P; Moore, P B (2001) The structure of helix III in Xenopus oocyte 5 S rRNA: an RNA stem containing a two-nucleotide bulge. J Mol Biol 312:823-32
Warren, J J; Moore, P B (2001) Application of dipolar coupling data to the refinement of the solution structure of the sarcin-ricin loop RNA. J Biomol NMR 20:311-23