Solution structure of the RNA-binding cold-shock domain of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii NAB1 protein and insights into RNA recognition

Cold-Shock Domains-Abundance, Structure, Properties, and Nucleic-Acid Binding

Simple Summary

Proteins are composed of compact domains, often of known three-dimensional structure, and natively unstructured polypeptide regions. The abundant cold-shock domain is among the set of canonical nucleic acid-binding domains and conserved from bacteria to man. Proteins containing cold-shock domains serve a large variety of biological functions, which are mostly linked to DNA or RNA binding. These functions include the regulation of transcription, RNA splicing, translation, stability and sequestration. Cold-shock domains have a simple architecture with a conserved surface ideally suited to bind single-stranded nucleic acids. Because the binding is mostly by non-specific molecular interactions which do not involve the sugar-phosphate backbone, cold-shock domains are not strictly sequence-specific and do not discriminate reliably between DNA and RNA. Many, but not all functions of cold shock-domain proteins in health and disease can be understood based of the physical and structural properties of their cold-shock domains.

Abstract

The cold-shock domain has a deceptively simple architecture but supports a complex biology. It is conserved from bacteria to man and has representatives in all kingdoms of life. Bacterial cold-shock proteins consist of a single cold-shock domain and some, but not all are induced by cold shock. Cold-shock domains in human proteins are often associated with natively unfolded protein segments and more rarely with other folded domains. Cold-shock proteins and domains share a five-stranded all-antiparallel β-barrel structure and a conserved surface that binds single-stranded nucleic acids, predominantly by stacking interactions between nucleobases and aromatic protein sidechains. This conserved binding mode explains the cold-shock domains’ ability to associate with both DNA and RNA strands and their limited sequence selectivity. The promiscuous DNA and RNA binding provides a rationale for the ability of cold-shock domain-containing proteins to function in transcription regulation and DNA-damage repair as well as in regulating splicing, translation, mRNA stability and RNA sequestration.

Cold Stress Response: An Overview in Chlamydomonas

Low temperature (or cold) is one of the major environmental factors that limit the growth and development of many plants. Various plant species have evolved complex mechanisms to adjust to decreased temperature. Mesophilic chlorophytes are a widely distributed group of eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms, but there is insufficient information about the key molecular processes of their cold acclimation. The best available model for studying how chlorophytes respond to and cope with variations in temperature is the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Chlamydomonas has been widely used for decades as a model system for studying the fundamental mechanisms of the plant heat stress response. At present, unraveling novel cold-regulated events in Chlamydomonas has attracted increasing research attention. This mini-review summarizes recent progress on low-temperature-dependent processes in the model alga, while information on other photosynthetic organisms (cyanobacteria and land plants) was used to strengthen generalizations or specializations of cold-induced mechanisms in plant evolution. Here, we describe recent advances in our understanding of cold stress response in Chlamydomonas, discuss areas of controversy, and highlight potential future directions in cold acclimation research.