Transfer RNA pseudouridine synthases in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A transfer RNA lacking modified nucleosides was produced by transcription in vitro of a cloned gene that encodes a Saccharomyces cerevisiae glycine tRNA. At least three different uridines (in nucleotide positions 13, 32, and 55) of this transcript tRNA are modified to pseudouridine by an extract of S. cerevisiae. Variants of the RNA substrate were also constructed that each had only one of these sites, thus allowing specific monitoring of pseudouridylation at different nucleotide positions. Using such RNAs to assay pseudouridine synthesis, enzymes producing this nucleoside were purified from an extract of S. cerevisiae. The activities corresponding to positions 13, 32, and 55 in the tRNA substrate could all be separated chromatographically, indicating that there is a separate enzyme for each of these sites. The enzyme specific for position 55 (denoted pseudouridine synthase 55) was purified approximately 4000-fold using a combination of DEAE-Sepharose, heparin-Sepharose, and hydroxylapatite.