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RNA helicases catalyze the ATP-dependent destabilization of RNA duplexes. DEAD-box helicases share a helicase core that mediates ATP binding and hydrolysis, RNA binding and unwinding. Most members of this family contain domains flanking the core that can confer RNA substrate specificity and guide the helicase to a specific RNA. However, the in vivo RNA substrates of most helicases are currently not defined. The DEAD-box helicase Hera from Thermus thermophilus contains a helicase core, followed by a dimerization domain and an RNA binding domain that folds into an RNA recognition motif (RRM). The RRM mediates high affinity binding to an RNA hairpin, and an adjacent duplex is then unwound by the helicase core. Hera is a cold-shock protein, and has been suggested to act as an RNA chaperone under cold-shock conditions. Using crosslinking immunoprecipitation of Hera/RNA complexes and sequencing, we show that Hera binds to a large fraction of T. thermophilus RNAs under normal-growth and cold-shock conditions without a strong sequence preference, in agreement with a structure-specific recognition of RNAs and a general function in RNA metabolism. Under cold-shock conditions, Hera is recruited to RNAs with high propensities to form stable secondary structures. We show that selected RNAs identified, including a set of tRNAs, bind to Hera in vitro, and activate the Hera helicase core. Gene ontology analysis reveals an enrichment of genes related to translation, including mRNAs of ribosomal proteins, tRNAs, tRNA ligases, and tRNA-modifying enzymes, consistent with a key role of Hera in ribosome and tRNA metabolism., (© 2020 Donsbach et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press for the RNA Society.)

DEAD box family helicases consist of a helicase core that is formed by two flexibly linked RecA-like domains. The helicase activity can be regulated by N- or C-terminal extensions flanking the core. Thermus thermophilus heat resistant RNA-dependent ATPase (Hera) is the first DEAD box helicase that forms a dimer using a unique dimerization domain. In addition to the dimerization domain, Hera contains a C-terminal RNA binding domain (RBD) that shares sequence homology only to uncharacterized proteins of the Deinococcus/Thermus group. The crystal structure of Hera_RBD reveals the fold of an altered RNA recognition motif (RRM) with limited structural homology to the RBD of the DEAD box helicase YxiN from Bacillus subtilis. Comparison with RRM/RNA complexes shows that a RNA binding mode different than that suggested for YxiN, but similar to U1A, can be inferred for Hera. The orientation of the RBD relative to the helicase core was defined in a second crystal structure of a Hera fragment including the C-terminal RecA domain, the dimerization domain, and the RBD. The structures allow construction of a model for the entire Hera helicase dimer. A likely binding surface for large RNA substrates that spans both RecA-like domains and the RBD is identified.

Tertiary structure in globular RNA folds can create local environments that lead to pKa perturbation of specific nucleotide functional groups. To assess the prevalence of functionally relevant adenosine-specific pKa perturbation in RNA structure, we have altered the nucleotide analog interference mapping (NAIM) approach to include a series of a phosphorothioate-tagged adenosine analogs with shifted N1 pKa values. We have used these analogs to analyze the hairpin ribozyme, a small self-cleaving/ligating RNA catalyst that is proposed to employ a general acid-base reaction mechanism. A single adenosine (A10) within the ribozyme active site displayed an interference pattern consistent with a functionally significant base ionization. The exocyclic amino group of a second adenosine (A38) contributes substantially to hairpin catalysis, but ionization of the nucleotide does not appear to be important for activity. Within the hairpin ribozyme crystal structure, A10 and A38 line opposite edges of a solvent-excluded cavity adjacent to the 5'-OH nucleophile. The results are inconsistent with the model of ribozyme chemistry in which A38 acts as a general acid-base catalyst, and suggest that the hairpin ribozyme uses an alternative mechanism to achieve catalytic rate enhancement that utilizes functional groups within a solvent-excluded cleft in the ribozyme active site.