Cloning and Multi-Subunit Expression of Mitochondrial Membrane Protein Complexes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a useful eukaryotic expression system for mitochondrial membrane proteins due to its ease of growth and ability to provide a native membrane environment. The development of the pBEVY vector system has further increased the potential of S. cerevisiae as an expression system by creating a method for expressing multiple proteins simultaneously.

The RRM of the kRNA-editing protein TbRGG2 uses multiple surfaces to bind and remodel RNA.

Kinetoplastid RNA (kRNA) editing takes place in the mitochondria of kinetoplastid protists and creates translatable mRNAs by uridine insertion/deletion. Extensively edited (pan-edited) transcripts contain quadruplex forming guanine stretches, which must be remodeled to promote uridine insertion/deletion. Here we show that the RRM domain of the essential kRNA-editing factor TbRGG2 binds poly(G) and poly(U) RNA and can unfold both.

Structures of archaeal DNA segregation machinery reveal bacterial and eukaryotic linkages.

Although recent studies have provided a wealth of information about archaeal biology, nothing is known about the molecular basis of DNA segregation in these organisms. Here, we unveil the machinery and assembly mechanism of the archaeal Sulfolobus pNOB8 partition system. This system uses three proteins: ParA; an atypical ParB adaptor; and a centromere-binding component, AspA.

Structures of the T. brucei kRNA editing factor MRB1590 reveal unique RNA-binding pore motif contained within an ABC-ATPase fold.

Kinetoplastid RNA (kRNA) editing is a process that creates translatable mitochondrial mRNA transcripts from cryptogene encoded RNAs and is unique for kinetoplastids, such as Trypanosoma brucei. In addition to the catalytic 20S editosome, multiple accessory proteins are required for this conversion. Recently, the multiprotein mitochondrial RNA binding complex 1 (MRB1) has emerged as a key player in this process.