Localization of the site of cleavage of ribosomal RNA by colicin E3. Placement on the small ribosomal subunit by electron microscopy of antibody--complementary oligodeoxynucleotide complexes.

Colicin E3 is a ribonuclease that inactivates Escherichia coli ribosomes by cleaving the RNA of the small ribosomal subunit after nucleotide 1493. A series of oligodeoxynucleotides that complement 16 S RNA in the region of the colicin cleavage site has been synthesized, and their ability to form complexes with 30 S ribosomal subunits has been measured using a nitrocellulose filter-binding assay. The most efficiently bound probe, complementary to residues 1485-1496, was modified with antibody-recognizable derivatives at the 5'-end, the 3'-end, or both. Antibody-oligonucleotide-subunit complexes were then generated and examined by electron microscopy. Antibody binding was seen at the tip of the platform of the 30 S subunit. The complementary oligonucleotide and thus the site at which colcin E3 cleavage occurs is therefore in the same physical region as the 3'-end of the 16 S ribosomal RNA and its message-positioning "Shine-Dal-garno" sequence.