NudC is a NUDIX pyrophosphatase that efficiently hydrolyzes NAD+- and NADH-capped RNA, generating a ligatible 5 monophosphate on the RNA (NAD+ decapping or deNADding).
- Decaps RNA that contains ADP-containing, non-canonical initiating nucleotides
- Hydrolyzes NADH and NAD+ into AMP and reduced nicotinamide monophosphate nucleoside (NMNH), and AMP
- Hydrolyzes diphosphate dinucleotides and metabolic co-factors containing an ADP moiety such as AppA
- Useful for NAD+ decapping or deNADding when NAD+ is the 5 initiating nucleotide of RNA
Deletion of the nudC gene has been shown to increase the fraction of NAD+-capped RNA in E. coli. NudC has also been shown to hydrolyze small molecules containing an ADP moiety such as NADH, NAD+, AppA, ADP-ribose, ADP-glucose and metabolic co-factors such as FAD, Coenzyme A and Acetyl CoA at varying efficiency (3 and unpublished results). With its activity on various dinucleotides and metabolic co-factors, NudC may potentially be used to identify RNA carrying non-canonical caps by pyrophosphorolysis of the cap and analysis of the product nucleotide, or identifying the resulting 5' monophosphate end of the RNA using 5' ligation-based methods such as RNA-seq or 5' RACE.
