Binding site for Xenopus ribosomal protein L5 and accompanying structural changes in 5S rRNA

The structure of the eukaryotic L5-5S rRNA complex was investigated in protection and interference experiments and is compared with the corresponding structure (L18-5S rRNA) in the Haloarcula marismortui 50S subunit. In close correspondence with the archaeal structure, the contact sites for the eukaryotic ribosomal protein are located primarily in helix III and loop C and secondarily in loop A and helix V. While the former is unique to L5, the latter is also a critical contact site for transcription factor IIIA (TFIIIA), accounting for the mutually exclusive binding of these two proteins to 5S RNA. The binding of L5 causes structural changes in loops B and C that expose nucleotides that contact the Xenopus L11 ortholog in H. marismortui. This induced change in the structure of the RNA reveals the origins of the cooperative binding to 5S rRNA that has been observed for the bacterial counterparts of these proteins. The native structure of helix IV and loop D antagonizes binding of L5, indicating that this region of the RNA is dynamic and also influenced by the protein. Examination of the crystal structures of Thermus thermophilus ribosomes in the pre- and post-translocation states identified changes in loop D and in the surrounding region of 23S rRNA that support the proposal that 5S rRNA acts to transmit information between different functional domains of the large subunit.