Cross-linking of Selected Residues in the N- and C-terminal Domains of Escherichia coli Protein L7/L12 to Other Ribosomal Proteins and the Effect of Elongation Factor Tu

Five different variants of protein L7/L12, each with a single cysteine substitution at a selected site, were produced, modified with125I-N-[4-(p-azidosalicylamido)-butyl]-3-(2′-pyridyldithio)propionamide, a radiolabeled, sulfhydryl-specific, heterobifunctional, cleavable photocross-linking reagent that transfers radiolabel to the target molecule upon reduction of the disulfide bond. The proteins were reconstituted with core particles depleted of wild type L7/L12 to yield 70 S ribosomes. Cross-linked molecules were identified and quantified by the radiolabel. No cross-linking of RNA was detected. Two sites in the dimeric N-terminal domain, Cys-12 and Cys-33, cross-linked strongly to L10 and in lower yield to L11 but to no other proteins. The three sites in the globular C-terminal domain all cross-linked strongly to L11 and, in lower yield, to L10. Weaker cross-linking to 50 S proteins L2 and L5 occurred from all three C-terminal domain locations. The 30 S ribosomal proteins S2, S3, S7, S14, S18 were also cross-linked from all three of these sites. Binding of the ternary complex [14C]Phe-tRNA·elongation factor Tu·guanyl-5′-yl imidodiphosphate) but not [14C]Phe-tRNA·elongation factor Tu·GDP·kirromycin increased labeling of L2, L5, and all of the 30 S proteins. These results imply the flexibility of L7/L12 and the transient proximity of three surfaces of the C-terminal domain with the base of the stalk, the peptidyl transferase domain, and the head of the 30 S subunit.