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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Using In Vitro and In-cell SHAPE to Investigate Small Molecule Induced Pre-mRNA Structural Changes
Published on: January 30, 2019
Substrate preference, RNA binding and active site versatility of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia nuclease SmNuc1,
Kristýna Adámková1,2, Mária Trundová1, Tomáš Kovaľ1
1Institute of Biotechnology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Vestec, Czech Republic.
Abstract:
Nucleases of the S1/P1 family have important applications in biotechnology and molecular biology. We have performed structural analyses of SmNuc1 nuclease from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, including RNA cleavage product binding and mutagenesis in a newly discovered flexible Arg74-motif, involved in substrate binding and product release and likely contributing to the high catalytic rate. The Arg74Gln mutation shifts substrate preference towards RNA. Purine nucleotide binding differs compared to pyrimidines, confirming the plasticity of the active site. The enzyme-product interactions indicate a gradual, stepwise product release. The activity of SmNuc1 towards c-di-GMP in crystal resulted in a distinguished complex with the emerging product 5'-GMP. This enzyme from an opportunistic pathogen relies on specific architecture enabling high performance under broad conditions, attractive for biotechnologies.
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