Publications

• Mouse Trmt2B protein is a dual specific mitochondrial metyltransferase responsible for m5U formation in both tRNA and rRNA.

  Laptev I., Shvetsova E., Levitskii S., Serebryakova M., Rubtsova M., Bogdanov A., Kamenski P., Sergiev P., Dontsova O.

  RNA molecules of all species contain modified nucleotides and particularly m⁵U residues. The vertebrate mitochondrial small subunit rRNA contains m⁵U nucleotide in a unique site. In this work we found an enzyme, TRMT2B, responsible for the formation of this nucleotide and m<s ... >> More

  RNA molecules of all species contain modified nucleotides and particularly m⁵U residues. The vertebrate mitochondrial small subunit rRNA contains m⁵U nucleotide in a unique site. In this work we found an enzyme, TRMT2B, responsible for the formation of this nucleotide and m⁵U residues in a number of mitochondrial tRNA species. Inactivation of the <i>Trmt2B</i> gene leads to a reduction of the activity of respiratory chain complexes I, III and IV, containing the subunits synthesized by the mitochondrial protein synthesis apparatus. Comparative sequence analysis of m⁵U-specific RNA methyltransferases revealed an unusual evolutionary pathway of TRMT2B formation which includes consecutive substrate specificity switches from the large subunit rRNA to tRNA and then to the small subunit rRNA. << Less

  RNA Biol. 17:441-450(2020) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• TRMT2B is responsible for both tRNA and rRNA m5U-methylation in human mitochondria.

  Powell C.A., Minczuk M.

  RNA species play host to a plethora of post-transcriptional modifications which together make up the epitranscriptome. 5-methyluridine (m⁵U) is one of the most common modifications made to cellular RNA, where it is found almost ubiquitously in bacterial and eukaryotic cytosolic tRNAs at ... >> More

  RNA species play host to a plethora of post-transcriptional modifications which together make up the epitranscriptome. 5-methyluridine (m⁵U) is one of the most common modifications made to cellular RNA, where it is found almost ubiquitously in bacterial and eukaryotic cytosolic tRNAs at position 54. Here, we demonstrate that m⁵U54 in human mitochondrial tRNAs is catalysed by the nuclear-encoded enzyme TRMT2B, and that its repertoire of substrates is expanded to ribosomal RNAs, catalysing m⁵U429 in 12S rRNA. We show that TRMT2B is not essential for viability in human cells and that knocking-out the gene shows no obvious phenotype with regards to RNA stability, mitochondrial translation, or cellular growth. << Less

  RNA Biol. 17:451-462(2020) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]