Binding of neomycin-class aminoglycoside antibiotics to the A-site of 16 S rRNA.

Aminoglycoside antibiotics that bind to ribosomal RNA in the aminoacyl-tRNA site (A-site) cause misreading of the genetic code and inhibit translocation. We have recently solved the structure of an A-site RNA-paromomycin complex. The structure suggested that rings I and II, common to all aminoglycosides that bind to the A-site, are the minimum motif for specific ribosome binding to affect translation. This hypothesis was tested biochemically and with a detailed comparative NMR study of interaction of the aminoglycosides paromomycin, neomycin, ribostamycin, and neamine with the A-site RNA. Our NMR data show that rings I and II of neomycin-class aminoglycosides are sufficient to confer specificity to the binding of the antibiotics to the model A-site RNA. Neomycin, paromomycin, ribostamycin and neamine bind in the major groove of the A-site RNA in a unique binding pocket formed by non-canonical base pairs and a bulged nucleotide. Similar NMR properties of the RNA and the diverse antibiotics within the different complexes formed with neomycin, paromomycin, ribostamycin and neamine suggest similar structures for these complexes. Copyright 1998 Academic Press Limited.