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Protein Synthesis and Polyamines in Thermophiles: Effect of Polyamines on Nucleic Acid Maintenance and Gene Expression

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Polyamines

Abstract

Gene expression at both the transcriptional and translational levels is critically dependent upon DNA and RNA structure, particularly in hyperthermophiles, which grow at temperatures above 80 °C. Nucleosome-like structures (histone-bound DNA) from hyperthermophilic Archaea are compacted and stabilized in the presence of multivalent polyamines, suggesting that polyamines play a role in nucleosome maintenance in hyperthermophiles. Multivalent polyamines inhibit the melting of double-stranded DNA and structured RNA. Longer-chain polyamines stabilize double-stranded nucleic acids, whereas branched-chain polyamines stabilize stem-and-loop structures, suggesting that branched-chain polyamines are involved in gene translation. Protein synthesis catalyzed by a cell-free extract of the hyperthermophilic archaeon, Thermococcus kodakarensis, requires the presence of longer- and/or branched-chain polyamines. Translational activity increases in the presence of a variety of linear polyamines and is dependent on chain length. Putrescine and spermidine do not increase translational activity. By contrast, longer polyamines such as homocaldopentamine [3334], caldopentamine [3333], and thermopentamine [3343] increase translational activity. The greatest activity occurs in the presence of N 4-bis(aminopropyl)spermidine [3(3)(3)4] (abbreviation for the number of methylene CH2 chain units between NH2, NH, N, or N+). In vitro experiments using cell extracts from the thermophilic bacterium, Thermus thermophiles, reveal that branched-chain polyamines appear to play a role in peptide bond formation during protein biosynthesis. Thus, it appears that branched-chain polyamines are essential for the proper formation of the 30S initiation complex, which acts as the initial aminoacyl-tRNA in thermophiles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioscience, School of Science and Technology, Kwansei-Gakuin University, 2-1 Sanda, Hyogo, 669-1337, Japan

    Shinsuke Fujiwara

  2. Research Center for Intelligent Bio-Materials, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kwansei-Gakuin University, 2-1 Sanda, Hyogo, 669-1337, Japan

    Shinsuke Fujiwara

  3. Research Center for Environmental Bioscience, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kwansei-Gakuin University, 2-1 Sanda, Hyogo, 669-1337, Japan

    Ryota Hidese

  4. Department of Bioscience, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kwansei-Gakuin University, 2-1 Sanda, Hyogo, 669-1337, Japan

    Takahiro Inoue

  5. Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Ritsumeikan University, 1-1-1 Nojihigashi, Kusatsu, Shiga, 525-8577, Japan

    Wakao Fukuda

Authors
  1. Shinsuke Fujiwara
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  2. Ryota Hidese
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  3. Takahiro Inoue
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  4. Wakao Fukuda
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Correspondence to Shinsuke Fujiwara .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba, Sendai-city, Miyagi, Japan

    Tomonobu Kusano

  2. Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Goshokaido-cho, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan

    Hideyuki Suzuki

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Fujiwara, S., Hidese, R., Inoue, T., Fukuda, W. (2015). Protein Synthesis and Polyamines in Thermophiles: Effect of Polyamines on Nucleic Acid Maintenance and Gene Expression. In: Kusano, T., Suzuki, H. (eds) Polyamines. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55212-3_12

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