Two dynamic N-terminal regions are required for function in ribosomal RNA adenine dimethylase family members

Prominent members of the ribosomal RNA adenine dimethylase (RRAD) family of enzymes facilitate ribosome maturation by dimethylating 2 nt of small subunit rRNA, including the human DIMT1 and bacterial KsgA enzymes. A subgroup of RRAD enzymes, named erythromycin resistance methyltransferases (Erm), dimethylate a specific nucleotide in large subunit rRNA to confer antibiotic resistance. How these enzymes regulate methylation so that it only occurs on the specific substrate is not fully understood. While performing random mutagenesis on the catalytic domain of ErmE, we discovered that mutants in an N-terminal region of the protein that is disordered in the ErmE crystal structure are associated with a loss of antibiotic resistance. By subjecting site-directed mutants of ErmE and KsgA to phenotypic and in vitro assays, we found that the N-terminal region is critical for activity in RRAD enzymes: The N-terminal basic region promotes rRNA binding, and the conserved motif likely assists in juxtaposing the adenosine substrate and the <i>S</i>-adenosylmethionine cofactor. Our results and emerging structural data suggest that this dynamic, N-terminal region of RRAD enzymes becomes ordered upon rRNA binding, forming a cap on the active site required for methylation.