Recognition of a signal peptide by the signal recognition particle

Targeting of proteins to appropriate sub-cellular compartments is a crucial process in all living cells. Secretory and membrane proteins usually contain an N-terminal signal peptide, which is recognised by the signal recognition particle (SRP) when nascent polypeptide chains emerge from the ribosome. The SRP-ribosome nascent chain complex is then targeted through its GTP-dependent interaction with SRP-receptor to the protein-conducting channel on endoplasmic reticulum membrane in eukaryotes or plasma membrane in bacteria. A universally conserved component of SRP1, 2, SRP54 or its bacterial homolog, fifty-four homolog (Ffh), binds the signal peptides which have a highly divergent sequence divisible into a positively charged n-region, an h-region commonly containing 8-20 hydrophobic residues and a polar c-region 3-5. No structure has been reported that exemplified SRP54 binding of any signal sequence. We have produced a fusion protein between Sulfolobus solfataricus SRP54 and a signal peptide connected via a flexible linker. This fusion protein oligomerises in solution, through interaction between the SRP54 and signal peptide moieties belonging to different chains, and it is functional, able to bind SRP RNA and SRP-receptor FtsY. Here we present the crystal structure at 3.5 Å resolution of an SRP54-signal peptide complex in the dimer, which reveals how a signal sequence is recognised by SRP54.