Chimeric rRNAs containing the GTPase centers of the developmentally regulated ribosomal rRNAs of Plasmodium falciparum are functionally distinct.

The human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, maintains at least two distinct types, A and S, of developmentally controlled ribosomal RNAs. To investigate specific functions associated with these rRNAs, we replaced the Saccharomyces cerevisiae GTPase domain of the 25S rRNA with GTPase domains corresponding to the Plasmodium A- and S-type 28S rRNAs. The A-type rRNA differs in a single nonconserved base pair from the yeast GTPase domain. The S-type rRNA GTPase domain has three additional changes in highly conserved residues, making it unique among all known rRNA sequences. The expression of either A- or S-type chimeric rRNA in yeast increased translational accuracy. Yeast containing only A-type chimeric rRNA and no wild-type yeast rRNA grew at the wild-type level. In contrast, S-type chimeric rRNA severely inhibited growth in the presence of wild-type yeast rRNA, and caused lethality in the absence of the wild-type yeast rRNA. We show what before could only be hypothesized, that the changes in the GTPase center of ribosomes present during different developmental stages of Plasmodium species can result in fundamental changes in the biology of the organism.