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Crystal structure of Mj1640/DUF358 protein reveals a putative SPOUT-class RNA methyltransferase Free
Hong-Ying Chen 1 and Y. Adam Yuan1,2,3,*
1Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, T-lab Building, 5A Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117411, Singapore
2Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore
3Temasek Life Science Laboratory, National University of Singapore, 1 Research Link, Singapore 117604, Singapore *Correspondence to:Y. Adam Yuan, Tel: +65-68727409; Fax: +65-68727007; E-mail: adam@tll.org.sg
J Mol Cell Biol, Volume 2, Issue 6, December 2010, 366-374,  https://doi.org/10.1093/jmcb/mjq034
Keyword: DUF358, SPOUT-class RNA methyltransferase, X-ray structure
The proteins in DUF358 family are all bacterial proteins, which are ∼amino acids long with unknown function. Bioinformatics analysis suggests that these proteins contain several conserved arginines and aspartates that might adopt SPOUT-class fold. Here we report crystal structure of Methanocaldococcus jannaschii DUF358/Mj1640 in complex with S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) at 1.4 Å resolution. The structure reveals a single domain structure consisting of eight-stranded β-sheets sandwiched by six α-helices at both sides. Similar to other SPOUT-class members, Mj1640 contains a typical deep trefoil knot at its C-terminus to accommodate the SAM cofactor. However, Mj1640 has limited structural extension at its N-terminus, which is unique to this family member. Mj1640 forms a dimer, which is mediated by two parallel pairs of α-helices oriented almost perpendicular to each other. Although Mj1640 shares close structural similarity with Nep1, the significant differences in N-terminal extension domain and the overall surface charge distribution strongly suggest that Mj1640 might target a different RNA sequence. Detailed structural analysis of the SAM-binding pocket reveals that Asp157 or Glu183 from its own monomer or Ser43 from the associate monomer probably plays the catalytic role for RNA methylation.