The novel pre-rRNA detection workflow "Riboprobing" allows simple identification of undescribed RNA species.

Ribosomes translate mRNA into proteins and are essential for every living organism. In eukaryotes both ribosomal subunits are rapidly assembled in a strict hierarchical order, starting in the nucleolus with transcription of a common precursor ribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA). This pre-rRNA encodes three of the four mature rRNAs which are formed by several, consecutive endonucleolytic and exonucleolytic processing steps. Historically, Northern Blots are used to analyze the variety of different pre-rRNA species, only allowing rough length estimations. Although this limitation can be overcome with Primer Extension, both approaches often use radioactivity and are time consuming and costly. Here we present "Riboprobing" a reverse transcription-based workflow extended by linker ligation for easy and fast detection and characterization of various pre-rRNA species and their 5` as well as 3` ends. Using standard molecular biology lab equipment, our technique allows reliable discrimination of pre-rRNA species not resolved by Northern Blotting (e.g.: 27SA2, 27SA3 and 27SB). The method can be successfully used for analysis of total cell extracts as well as purified pre-ribosomes for a straightforward evaluation of the impact of mutant gene versions or inhibitors. In the course of method development, we identified and characterized a hitherto undescribed aberrant pre-rRNA, arising from LiCl inhibition. This pre-rRNA fragment spans from processing site A1 to E, forming a small RNP that is lacking most early joining assembly factors. This finding expands our knowledge of how the cell deals with severe pre-rRNA processing defects and demonstrates the strict requirement for the 5'ETS for the assembly process.

Visualizing maturation factor extraction from the nascent ribosome by the AAA-ATPase Drg1.

The AAA-ATPase Drg1 is a key factor in eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis that initiates cytoplasmic maturation of the large ribosomal subunit. Drg1 releases the shuttling maturation factor Rlp24 from pre-60S particles shortly after nuclear export, a strict requirement for downstream maturation. The molecular mechanism of release remained elusive. Here, we report a series of cryo-EM structures that captured the extraction of Rlp24 from pre-60S particles by Saccharomyces cerevisiae Drg1. These structures reveal that Arx1 and the eukaryote-specific rRNA expansion segment ES27 form a joint docking platform that positions Drg1 for efficient extraction of Rlp24 from the pre-ribosome. The tips of the Drg1 N domains thereby guide the Rlp24 C terminus into the central pore of the Drg1 hexamer, enabling extraction by a hand-over-hand translocation mechanism. Our results uncover substrate recognition and processing by Drg1 step by step and provide a comprehensive mechanistic picture of the conserved modus operandi of AAA-ATPases.

Structural basis for inhibition of the AAA-ATPase Drg1 by diazaborine.

The hexameric AAA-ATPase Drg1 is a key factor in eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis and initiates cytoplasmic maturation of the large ribosomal subunit by releasing the shuttling maturation factor Rlp24. Drg1 monomers contain two AAA-domains (D1 and D2) that act in a concerted manner. Rlp24 release is inhibited by the drug diazaborine which blocks ATP hydrolysis in D2. The mode of inhibition was unknown. Here we show the first cryo-EM structure of Drg1 revealing the inhibitory mechanism. Diazaborine forms a covalent bond to the 2'-OH of the nucleotide in D2, explaining its specificity for this site. As a consequence, the D2 domain is locked in a rigid, inactive state, stalling the whole Drg1 hexamer. Resistance mechanisms identified include abolished drug binding and altered positioning of the nucleotide. Our results suggest nucleotide-modifying compounds as potential novel inhibitors for AAA-ATPases.

Inhibiting eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Ribosome biogenesis is a central process in every growing cell. In eukaryotes, it requires more than 250 non-ribosomal assembly factors, most of which are essential. Despite this large repertoire of potential targets, only very few chemical inhibitors of ribosome biogenesis are known so far. Such inhibitors are valuable tools to study this highly dynamic process and elucidate mechanistic details of individual maturation steps. Moreover, ribosome biogenesis is of particular importance for fast proliferating cells, suggesting its inhibition could be a valid strategy for treatment of tumors or infections. RESULTS: We systematically screened ~ 1000 substances for inhibitory effects on ribosome biogenesis using a microscopy-based screen scoring ribosomal subunit export defects. We identified 128 compounds inhibiting maturation of either the small or the large ribosomal subunit or both. Northern blot analysis demonstrates that these inhibitors cause a broad spectrum of different rRNA processing defects. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that the individual inhibitors affect a wide range of different maturation steps within the ribosome biogenesis pathway. Our results provide for the first time a comprehensive set of inhibitors to study ribosome biogenesis by chemical inhibition of individual maturation steps and establish the process as promising druggable pathway for chemical intervention.

Mechanism of completion of peptidyltransferase centre assembly in eukaryotes.

During their final maturation in the cytoplasm, pre-60S ribosomal particles are converted to translation-competent large ribosomal subunits. Here, we present the mechanism of peptidyltransferase centre (PTC) completion that explains how integration of the last ribosomal proteins is coupled to release of the nuclear export adaptor Nmd3. Single-particle cryo-EM reveals that eL40 recruitment stabilises helix 89 to form the uL16 binding site. The loading of uL16 unhooks helix 38 from Nmd3 to adopt its mature conformation. In turn, partial retraction of the L1 stalk is coupled to a conformational switch in Nmd3 that allows the uL16 P-site loop to fully accommodate into the PTC where it competes with Nmd3 for an overlapping binding site (base A2971). Our data reveal how the central functional site of the ribosome is sculpted and suggest how the formation of translation-competent 60S subunits is disrupted in leukaemia-associated ribosomopathies.

Viewing pre-60S maturation at a minute's timescale.

The formation of ribosomal subunits is a highly dynamic process that is initiated in the nucleus and involves more than 200 trans-acting factors, some of which accompany the pre-ribosomes into the cytoplasm and have to be recycled into the nucleus. The inhibitor diazaborine prevents cytoplasmic release and recycling of shuttling pre-60S maturation factors by inhibiting the AAA-ATPase Drg1. The failure to recycle these proteins results in their depletion in the nucleolus and halts the pathway at an early maturation step. Here, we made use of the fast onset of inhibition by diazaborine to chase the maturation path in real-time from 27SA2 pre-rRNA containing pre-ribosomes localized in the nucleolus up to nearly mature 60S subunits shortly after their export into the cytoplasm. This allows for the first time to put protein assembly and disassembly reactions as well as pre-rRNA processing into a chronological context unraveling temporal and functional linkages during ribosome maturation.

A conserved inter-domain communication mechanism regulates the ATPase activity of the AAA-protein Drg1.

AAA-ATPases fulfil essential roles in different cellular pathways and often act in form of hexameric complexes. Interaction with pathway-specific substrate and adaptor proteins recruits them to their targets and modulates their catalytic activity. This substrate dependent regulation of ATP hydrolysis in the AAA-domains is mediated by a non-catalytic N-terminal domain. The exact mechanisms that transmit the signal from the N-domain and coordinate the individual AAA-domains in the hexameric complex are still the topic of intensive research. Here, we present the characterization of a novel mutant variant of the eukaryotic AAA-ATPase Drg1 that shows dysregulation of ATPase activity and altered interaction with Rlp24, its substrate in ribosome biogenesis. This defective regulation is the consequence of amino acid exchanges at the interface between the regulatory N-domain and the adjacent D1 AAA-domain. The effects caused by these mutations strongly resemble those of pathological mutations of the AAA-ATPase p97 which cause the hereditary proteinopathy IBMPFD (inclusion body myopathy associated with Paget's disease of the bone and frontotemporal dementia). Our results therefore suggest well conserved mechanisms of regulation between structurally, but not functionally related members of the AAA-family.

Loss of Nat4 and its associated histone H4 N-terminal acetylation mediates calorie restriction-induced longevity.

Changes in histone modifications are an attractive model through which environmental signals, such as diet, could be integrated in the cell for regulating its lifespan. However, evidence linking dietary interventions with specific alterations in histone modifications that subsequently affect lifespan remains elusive. We show here that deletion of histone N-alpha-terminal acetyltransferase Nat4 and loss of its associated H4 N-terminal acetylation (N-acH4) extend yeast replicative lifespan. Notably, nat4Δ-induced longevity is epistatic to the effects of calorie restriction (CR). Consistent with this, (i) Nat4 expression is downregulated and the levels of N-acH4 within chromatin are reduced upon CR, (ii) constitutive expression of Nat4 and maintenance of N-acH4 levels reduces the extension of lifespan mediated by CR, and (iii) transcriptome analysis indicates that nat4Δ largely mimics the effects of CR, especially in the induction of stress-response genes. We further show that nicotinamidase Pnc1, which is typically upregulated under CR, is required for nat4Δ-mediated longevity. Collectively, these findings establish histone N-acH4 as a regulator of cellular lifespan that links CR to increased stress resistance and longevity.

The drug diazaborine blocks ribosome biogenesis by inhibiting the AAA-ATPase Drg1.

The drug diazaborine is the only known inhibitor of ribosome biogenesis and specifically blocks large subunit formation in eukaryotic cells. However, the target of this drug and the mechanism of inhibition were unknown. Here we identify the AAA-ATPase Drg1 as a target of diazaborine. Inhibitor binding into the second AAA domain of Drg1 requires ATP loading and results in inhibition of ATP hydrolysis in this site. As a consequence the physiological activity of Drg1, i.e. the release of Rlp24 from pre-60S particles, is blocked, and further progression of cytoplasmic preribosome maturation is prevented. Our results identify the first target of an inhibitor of ribosome biogenesis and provide the mechanism of inhibition of a key step in large ribosomal subunit formation.

Rlp24 activates the AAA-ATPase Drg1 to initiate cytoplasmic pre-60S maturation.

Formation of eukaryotic ribosomes is driven by energy-consuming enzymes. The AAA-ATPase Drg1 is essential for the release of several shuttling proteins from cytoplasmic pre-60S particles and the loading of late joining proteins. However, its exact role in ribosome biogenesis has been unknown. Here we show that the shuttling protein Rlp24 recruited Drg1 to pre-60S particles and stimulated its ATPase activity. ATP hydrolysis in the second AAA domain of Drg1 was required to release shuttling proteins. In vitro, Drg1 specifically and exclusively extracted Rlp24 from purified pre-60S particles. Rlp24 release required ATP and was promoted by the interaction of Drg1 with the nucleoporin Nup116. Subsequent ATP hydrolysis in the first AAA domain dissociated Drg1 from Rlp24, liberating both proteins for consecutive cycles of activity. Our results show that release of Rlp24 by Drg1 defines a key event in large subunit formation that is a prerequisite for progression of cytoplasmic pre-60S maturation.

Cytoplasmic recycling of 60S preribosomal factors depends on the AAA protein Drg1.

Allelic forms of DRG1/AFG2 confer resistance to the drug diazaborine, an inhibitor of ribosome biogenesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our results show that the AAA-ATPase Drg1 is essential for 60S maturation and associates with 60S precursor particles in the cytoplasm. Functional inactivation of Drg1 leads to an increased cytoplasmic localization of shuttling pre-60S maturation factors like Rlp24, Arx1, and Tif6. Surprisingly, Nog1, a nuclear pre-60S factor, was also relocalized to the cytoplasm under these conditions, suggesting that it is a previously unsuspected shuttling preribosomal factor that is exported with the precursor particles and very rapidly reimported. Proteins that became cytoplasmic under drg1 mutant conditions were blocked on pre-60S particles at a step that precedes the association of Rei1, a later-acting preribosomal factor. A similar cytoplasmic accumulation of Nog1 and Rlp24 in pre-60S-bound form could be seen after overexpression of a dominant-negative Drg1 variant mutated in the D2 ATPase domain. We conclude that the ATPase activity of Drg1 is required for the release of shuttling proteins from the pre-60S particles shortly after their nuclear export. This early cytoplasmic release reaction defines a novel step in eukaryotic ribosome maturation.

Diazaborine treatment of yeast cells inhibits maturation of the 60S ribosomal subunit.

Diazaborine treatment of yeast cells was shown previously to cause accumulation of aberrant, 3'-elongated mRNAs. Here we demonstrate that the drug inhibits maturation of rRNAs for the large ribosomal subunit. Pulse-chase analyses showed that the processing of the 27S pre-rRNA to consecutive species was blocked in the drug-treated wild-type strain. The steady-state level of the 7S pre-rRNA was clearly reduced after short-term treatment with the inhibitor. At the same time an increase of the 35S pre-rRNA was observed. Longer incubation with the inhibitor resulted in a decrease of the 27S precursor. Primer extension assays showed that an early step in 27S pre-rRNA processing is inhibited, which results in an accumulation of the 27SA2 pre-rRNA and a strong decrease of the 27SA3, 27SB1L, and 27SB1S precursors. The rRNA processing pattern observed after diazaborine treatment resembles that reported after depletion of the RNA binding protein Nop4p/Nop77p. This protein is essential for correct pre-27S rRNA processing. Using a green fluorescent protein-Nop4 fusion, we found that diazaborine treatment causes, within minutes, a rapid redistribution of the protein from the nucleolus to the periphery of the nucleus, which provides a possible explanation for the effect of diazaborine on rRNA processing.

Structural and enzymatic properties of the AAA protein Drg1p from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Decoupling of intracellular function from ATPase activity and hexamerization.

The AAA protein Drg1 from yeast was affinity-purified, and its ATPase activity and hexamerization properties were analyzed. The same parameters were also determined for several mutant proteins and compared in light of the growth characteristics of the corresponding cells. The protein from a thermosensitive mutant exhibited reduced ATPase activity and hexamerization. These defects were not reversed by an intragenic suppressor mutation, although this allele supported growth at the nonpermissive temperature. A different set of mutants was generated by site-specific mutagenesis intended to adjust the Walker A box of the D2 domain of Drg1p to that of the D1 domain. A S562G exchange in D2 produced a nonfunctional protein that did not hexamerize but showed above-normal ATPase activity. The C561T mutant protein, on the other hand, was functional but hexamerized less readily and had reduced ATPase activity. In contrast, the C561T/S562G protein hexamerized less than wild type but had much higher ATPase activity. We distinguished strong and weak ATP-binding sites in the wild type protein but two weak sites in the C561T/S562G protein, indicating that the stronger site resides in D2. These observations are discussed in terms of the inter-relationship of ATPase activity per se, oligomeric status, and intracellular function for AAA proteins.