The signal recognition particle RNA, also known as 7SL, 6S, ffs, or 4.5S RNA, is the RNA component of the signal recognition particle (SRP) ribonucleoprotein complex. SRP is a universally conserved ribonucleoprotein that directs the traffic of proteins within the cell and allows them to be secreted. The SRP RNA, together with one or more SRP proteins contributes to the binding and release of the signal peptide. The RNA and protein components of this complex are highly conserved but do vary between the different kingdoms of life.
The common SINE family Alu probably originated from a 7SL RNA gene after deletion of a central sequence.
The eukaryotic SRP consists of a 300-nucleotide 7S RNA and six proteins: SRPs 72, 68, 54, 19, 14, and 9. Archaeal SRP consists of a 7S RNA and homologues of the eukaryotic SRP19 and SRP54 proteins. Eukaryotic and archaeal 7S RNAs have very similar secondary structures.
In most bacteria, the SRP consists of an RNA molecule (4.5S) and the Ffh protein (a homologue of the eukaryotic SRP54 protein). Some Gram-positive bacteria (e.g. Bacillus subtilis) have a longer eukaryote-like SRP RNA that includes an Alu domain.
In eukaryotes and archaea, eight helical elements fold into the Alu and S domains, separated by a long linker region. The Alu domain is thought to mediate the peptide chain elongation retardation function of the SRP. The universally conserved helix which interacts with the SRP54 M domain mediates signal sequence recognition. The SRP19-helix 6 complex is thought to be involved in SRP assembly and stabilises helix 8 for SRP54. binding The human genome in particular is known to contain a large amount of SRP RNA related sequence, including Alu repeats.
Read more about Signal Recognition Particle RNA: Discovery, Transcription and Processing, Structure, Binding Proteins
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