The crystal structure of a heptameric archaeal Sm protein: Implications for the eukaryotic snRNP core

Abstract
Sm proteins form the core of small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles (snRNPs), making them key components of several mRNA-processing assemblies, including the spliceosome. We report the 1.75-Å crystal structure of SmAP, an Sm-like archaeal protein that forms a heptameric ring perforated by a cationic pore. In addition to providing direct evidence for such an assembly in eukaryotic snRNPs, this structure ( i ) shows that SmAP homodimers are structurally similar to human Sm heterodimers, ( ii ) supports a gene duplication model of Sm protein evolution, and ( iii ) offers a model of SmAP bound to single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) that explains Sm binding-site specificity. The pronounced electrostatic asymmetry of the SmAP surface imparts directionality to putative SmAP–RNA interactions.