1FUU

Crystal structure of yeast initiation factor 4A, a DEAD-box RNA helicase.

(2000) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 97: 13080-13085

• PubMed: 11087862 Search on PubMedSearch on PubMed Central
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.97.24.13080
• Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
  1FUK, 1FUU


• PubMed Abstract: 
  

  The eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4A (eIF4A) is a member of the DEA(D/H)-box RNA helicase family, a diverse group of proteins that couples an ATPase activity to RNA binding and unwinding. Previous work has provided the structure of the amino-terminal, ATP-binding domain of eIF4A. Extending those results, we have solved the structure of the carboxyl-terminal domain of eIF4A with data to 1.75 A resolution; it has a parallel alpha-beta topology that superimposes, with minor variations, on the structures and conserved motifs of the equivalent domain in other, distantly related helicases. Using data to 2.8 A resolution and molecular replacement with the refined model of the carboxyl-terminal domain, we have completed the structure of full-length eIF4A; it is a "dumbbell" structure consisting of two compact domains connected by an extended linker. By using the structures of other helicases as a template, compact structures can be modeled for eIF4A that suggest (i) helicase motif IV binds RNA; (ii) Arg-298, which is conserved in the DEA(D/H)-box RNA helicase family but is absent from many other helicases, also binds RNA; and (iii) motifs V and VI "link" the carboxyl-terminal domain to the amino-terminal domain through interactions with ATP and the DEA(D/H) motif, providing a mechanism for coupling ATP binding and hydrolysis with conformational changes that modulate RNA binding.

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Organizational Affiliation: 

Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.