Ribosomal proteins L11 and L10.(L12)4 and the antibiotic thiostrepton interact with overlapping regions of the 23 S rRNA backbone in the ribosomal GTPase centre.

The Escherichia coli ribosomal protein (r-protein) L11 and its binding site on 23 S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) are associated with ribosomal hydrolysis of guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP). We have used hydroxyl radical footprinting to map the contacts between L11 and the backbone riboses in 23 S rRNA, and to investigate how this interaction is influenced by other ribosomal components. Complexes were characterized in both naked 23 S rRNA and ribosomes from an E. coli L11-minus strain, before and after reconstitution with L11. The protein protects 17 riboses between positions 1058 and 1085 in the naked 23 S rRNA. Within the ribosome, L11 also interacts with this rRNA region, although the protection effects are subtly different and extend to nucleotide 1098. The pentameric r-protein complex L10.(L12)4 binds to an adjacent site on the rRNA, protecting riboses at positions 1043, 1046 to 1049, 1053 to 1055 and increasing the accessibility of position 1068. The overlap in the positions affected by r-proteins L11 and L10.(L12)4, and the increase in protection between positions 1078 and 1084 when they are bound at the same time, reflect the mutually cooperative nature of their interaction with the rRNA. The data support a model for the tertiary configuration of the rRNA region, in which two stem-loop structures fold so that the loops lie in close proximity, with the main ribose interactions of L11 within the minor groove of one of the stems. The conformation of the rRNA-L11 interaction is modulated by L10.(L12)4 and other proteins within the ribosome. The antibiotics thiostrepton and micrococcin inhibit the catalytic functions of this region by slotting in between the accessible loops and interacting with nucleotides there.