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T‐armless tRNAs and elongated elongation factor Tu
Author(s) -
Ohtsuki Takashi,
Watanabe Yohichi
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
iubmb life
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.132
H-Index - 113
eISSN - 1521-6551
pISSN - 1521-6543
DOI - 10.1080/15216540701218722
Subject(s) - biology , transfer rna , mitochondrial dna , elongation factor , mitochondrion , caenorhabditis elegans , rna , ef tu , gene , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , ribosome
Most tRNAs share a common secondary structure containing a T arm, a D arm, an anticodon arm and an acceptor stem. However, there are some exceptions. Most nematode mitochondrial tRNAs and some animal mitochondrial tRNAs lack the T arm, which is necessary for binding to canonical elongation factor Tu (EF‐Tu). The mitochondria of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans have a unique EF‐Tu, named EF‐Tu1, whose structure has supplied clues as to how truncated tRNAs can work in translation. EF‐Tu1 has a C‐terminal extension of about 60 aa that is absent in canonical EF‐Tu. Recent data from our laboratory strongly suggests that EF‐Tu1 recognizes the D‐arm instead of the T arm by a mechanism involving this C‐terminal region. Further biochemical analysis of mitochondrial tRNAs and EF‐Tu from the distantly related nematode Trichinella spp. and sequence information on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA in arthropods suggest that T‐armless tRNAs may have arisen as a result of duplication of the EF‐Tu gene. These studies provide valuable insights into the co‐evolution of RNA and RNA‐binding proteins.IUBMB Life, 59: 68‐75, 2007