Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-12-2024
Abstract
Interpretation of the genetic code from triplets of nucleotides to amino acids is fundamental to life. This interpretation is achieved by cellular tRNAs, each reading a triplet codon through its complementary anticodon (positions 34–36) while delivering the amino acid charged to its 3′-end. This amino acid is then incorporated into the growing polypeptide chain during protein synthesis on the ribosome. The quality and versatility of the interpretation is ensured not only by the codon-anticodon pairing, but also by the post-transcriptional modifications at positions 34 and 37 of each tRNA, corresponding to the wobble nucleotide at the first position of the anticodon and the nucleotide on the 3′-side of the anticodon, respectively. How each codon is read by the matching anticodon, and which modifications are required, cannot be readily predicted from the codon-anticodon pairing alone. Here we provide an easily accessible modification pattern that is integrated into the genetic code table. We focus on the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli as a model, which is one of the few organisms whose entire set of tRNA modifications and modification genes is identified and mapped. This work provides an important reference tool that will facilitate research in protein synthesis, which is at the core of the cellular life.
Recommended Citation
Masuda, Isao and Hou, Ya-Ming, "A tRNA Modification Pattern That Facilitates Interpretation of the Genetic Code" (2024). Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers. Paper 260.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/bmpfp/260
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
PubMed ID
38933027
Language
English
Comments
This article, first published by Frontiers Media, is the author's final published version in Frontiers in Microbiology, Volume 15, 2024, Article number 1415100.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1415100.
Copyright © 2024 Masuda and Hou