Crystal structure and mutational study of a unique SpoU family archaeal methylase that forms 2'-O-methylcytidine at position 56 of tRNA
Kuratani, M., Bessho, Y., Nishimoto, M., Grosjean, H., Yokoyama, S.(2008) J Mol Biol 375: 1064-1075
- PubMed: 18068186 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmb.2007.11.023
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
2YY8 - PubMed Abstract: 
The conserved cytidine residue at position 56 of tRNA contributes to the maintenance of the L-shaped tertiary structure. aTrm56 catalyzes the 2'-O-methylation of the cytidine residue in archaeal tRNA, using S-adenosyl-L-methionine. Based on the amino acid sequence, aTrm56 is the most distant member of the SpoU family. Here, we determined the crystal structure of Pyrococcus horikoshii aTrm56 complexed with S-adenosyl-L-methionine at 2.48 A resolution. aTrm56 consists of the SPOUT domain, which contains the characteristic deep trefoil knot, and a unique C-terminal beta-hairpin. aTrm56 forms a dimer. The S-adenosyl-L-methionine binding and dimerization of aTrm56 were similar to those of the other SpoU members. A structure-based sequence alignment revealed that aTrm56 conserves only motif II, among the four signature motifs. However, an essential Arg16 residue is located at a novel position within motif I. Biochemical assays showed that aTrm56 prefers the L-shaped tRNA to the lambda form as its substrate.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.