Structural basis for sulfur relay to RNA mediated by heterohexameric TusBCD complex

Uridine at wobble position 34 of tRNA(Lys), tRNA(Glu), and tRNA Gin is exclusively modified into 2-thiouridine (s(2)U), which is crucial for both precise codon recognition and recognition by the cognate aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Recent Escherichia coli genetic studies revealed that the products of five novel genes, tusABCDE, function in the (SU)-U-2 modification. Here, we solved the 2.15 angstrom crystal structure of the E. coli TusBCD complex, a sulfur transfer mediator, forming a heterohexamer composed of a dimer of the hetero-trimer. Structure-based sequence alignment suggested two putative active site Cys residues, Cys79 (in TusC) and Cys78 (in TusD), which are exposed on the hexameric complex. In vivo mutant analyses revealed that only Cys78, in the TusD subunit, participates in sulfur transfer during the s(2)U modification process. Since the single Cys acts as a catalytic residue, we proposed that TusBCD mediates sulfur relay via a putative persulfide state of the TusD subunit.