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J Bacteriol, June 1998, p. 2883-2888, Vol. 180, No. 11
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Posttranscriptional Modifications in 16S and 23S rRNAs of the Archaeal Hyperthermophile Sulfolobus solfataricus

Kathleen R. Noon,1 Eveline Bruenger,1 and James A. McCloskey1,2,*

Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112,1 and Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 841322

Received 18 February 1998/Accepted 25 March 1998

Posttranscriptional modification is common to many types of RNA, but the majority of information concerning structure and function of modification is derived principally from tRNA. By contrast, less is known about modification in rRNA in spite of accumulating evidence for its direct participation in translation. The structural identities and approximate molar levels of modifications have been established for 16S and 23S rRNAs of the archaeal hyperthermophile Sulfolobus solfactaricus by using combined chromatography-mass spectrometry-based methods. Modification levels are exceptionally high for prokaryotic organisms, with approximately 38 modified sites in 16S rRNA and 50 in 23S rRNA for cells cultured at 75°C, compared with 11 and 23 sites, respectively, in Escherichia coli. We structurally characterized 10 different modified nucleosides in 16S rRNA, 64% (24 residues) of which are methylated at O-2' of ribose, and 8 modified species in 23S rRNA, 86% (43 residues) of which are ribose methylated, a form of modification shown in earlier studies to enhance stability of the polynucleotide chain. From cultures grown at progressively higher temperatures, 60, 75, and 83°C, a slight trend toward increased ribose methylation levels was observed, with greatest net changes over the 23°C range shown for 2'-O-methyladenosine in 16S rRNA (21% increase) and for 2'-O-methylcytidine (24%) and 2'-O-methylguanosine (22%) in 23S rRNA. These findings are discussed in terms of the potential role of modification in stabilization of rRNA in the thermal environment.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: 311A Skaggs Hall, University of Utah, 30 So. 2000 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112. Phone: (801) 581-5582. Fax: (801) 581-7457. E-mail: james.mccloskey{at}m.cc.utah.edu.

J Bacteriol, June 1998, p. 2883-2888, Vol. 180, No. 11
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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