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Background: Post-transcriptional modifications of rRNAs play important roles in biogenesis and function of ribosome. Results: Identification of an essential RNA acetyltransferase Rra1p responsible for forming N 4 -acetylcytidine at position 1773 in 18 S rRNA. Conclusion: Rra1p and ac 4 C1773 are required for pre-18 S rRNA processing. Significance: Rra1p modulates 40 S subunit biogenesis through a single acetylation of 18 S rRNA by sensing nuclear acetyl-CoA concentration. Biogenesis of eukaryotic ribosome is a complex event involving a number of non-ribosomal factors. During assembly of the ribosome, rRNAs are post-transcriptionally modified by 2-O-methylation, pseudouridylation, and several base-specific modifications, which are collectively involved in fine-tuning translational fidelity and/or modulating ribosome assembly. By mass-spectrometric analysis, we demonstrated that N 4 -acetylcytidine (ac 4 C) is present at position 1773 in the 18 S rRNA of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In addition, we found an essential gene, KRE33 (human homolog, NAT10), that we renamed RRA1 (ribosomal RNA cytidine acetyltransferase 1) encoding an RNA acetyltransferase responsible for ac 4 C1773 formation. Using recombinant Rra1p, we could successfully reconstitute ac 4 C1773 in a model rRNA fragment in the presence of both acetyl-CoA and ATP as substrates. Upon depletion of Rra1p, the 23 S precursor of 18 S rRNA was accumulated significantly, which resulted in complete loss of 18 S rRNA and small ribosomal subunit (40 S), suggesting that ac 4 C1773 formation catalyzed by Rra1p plays a critical role in processing of the 23 S precursor to yield 18 S rRNA. When nuclear acetyl-CoA was depleted by inactivation of acetyl-CoA synthetase 2 (ACS2), we observed temporal accumulation of the 23 S precursor, indicating that Rra1p modulates biogenesis of 40 S subunit by sensing nuclear acetyl-CoA concentration.
Ito et al. (Sat,) studied this question.