Pih1 is a scaffold protein of the Rvb1-Rvb2-Tah1-Pih1 (R2TP) protein complex, which is conserved in fungi and animals. The chaperone-like activity of the R2TP complex has been implicated in the assembly of multiple protein complexes, such as the small nucleolar RNA protein complex. However, the mechanism of the R2TP complex activity in vivo and the assembly of the complex itself are still largely unknown. Pih1 is an unstable protein and tends to aggregate when expressed alone. The C-terminal fragment of Pih1 contains multiple destabilization factors and acts as a degron when fused to other proteins. In this study, we investigated Pih1 interactors and identified a specific interaction between Pih1 and the proteasome subunit Rpn8 in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae when HSP90 co-chaperone Tah1 is depleted. By analyzing truncation mutants, we identified that the C-terminal 30 amino acids of Rpn8 are sufficient for the binding to Pih1 C terminus. With in vitro and in vivo degradation assays, we showed that the Pih1 C-terminal fragment Pih1(282-344) is able to induce a ubiquitin-independent degradation of GFP. Additionally, we demonstrated that truncation of the Rpn8 C-terminal disordered region does not affect proteasome assembly but specifically inhibits the degradation of the GFP-Pih1(282-344) fusion protein in vivo and Pih1 in vitro. We propose that Pih1 is a ubiquitin-independent proteasome substrate, and the direct interaction with Rpn8 C terminus mediates its proteasomal degradation.
The R2TP2 complex, which is composed of Rvb1, Rvb2, Tah1, and Pih1, was first discovered in baking yeast (1) and is required for box C/D small nucleolar RNA protein (snoRNP) complex assembly and thus for the ribosomal RNA biogenesis (2). R2TP is a conserved protein complex and has also been identified in mammalian cells (3-5), fruit fly (6), plasmodium (7), and many other fungi species (8), whereas it is absent in higher plants (9). There are more than 70 different snoRNP complexes that are directly involved in ribosomal RNA processing, a critical step for ribosome assembly that requires a total of more than 200 assembly factors (10). The assembly of R2TP complex in vivo is also a highly dynamic process and is regulated by the molecular chaperone HSP90 and nutrition status (11). However, the mechanism by which R2TP controls box C/D snoRNP complex assembly is still largely unknown.Pih1, the scaffold protein within the R2TP complex, mediates the interaction between Tah1 and Rvb1-Rvb2 and subsequently controls the biogenesis of box C/D snoRNP (2, 3). Tah1 recruits HSP90 and protects Pih1 from degradation in vivo (12, 13). Pih1 interacts directly with Nop58, one of the core protein subunits in box C/D snoRNP (11) and affects its stability (14). Pih1 also interacts with Rsa1, another snoRNP assembly factor through which the R2TP complex may interact with the snoRNP core protein Snu13 (15). Similar to the role of Tah1 in protecting Pih1, a small protein, Hit1, was also identified to interact with and protect Rsa1, thus revealing a complex...