Insights into the origin of the nuclear localization signals in conserved ribosomal proteins

Sergey Melnikov (1, 2) , Adam Ben-Shem (1) , Gulnara Yusupova (1) , Marat Yusupov (1)

1 IGBMC - Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire
2 Yale University [New Haven]

Eukaryotic ribosomal proteins, unlike their bacterial homologues, possess nuclear localization signals (NLSs) to enter the cell nucleus during ribosome assembly. Here we provide a comprehensive comparison of bacterial and eukaryotic ribosomes to show that NLSs appear in conserved ribosomal proteins via remodelling of their RNA-binding domains. This finding enabled us to identify previously unknown NLSs in ribosomal proteins from humans, and suggests that, apart from promoting protein transport, NLSs may facilitate folding of ribosomal RNA.

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Sergey Melnikov, Adam Ben-Shem, Gulnara Yusupova, Marat Yusupov. Insights into the origin of the nuclear localization signals in conserved ribosomal proteins. Nature Communications, 2015, 6 (1), pp.7382. ⟨10.1038/ncomms8382⟩. ⟨hal-03661149⟩