article · RNA Biology · 2015

tRNA acceptor-stem and anticodon bases embed separate features of amino acid chemistry

Cited by 38Open access

Abstract

The universal genetic code is a translation table by which nucleic acid sequences can be interpreted as polypeptides with a wide range of biological functions. That information is used by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases to translate the code. Moreover, amino acid properties dictate protein folding. We recently reported that digital correlation techniques could identify patterns in tRNA identity elements that govern recognition by synthetases. Our analysis, and the functionality of truncated synthetases that cannot recognize the tRNA anticodon, support the conclusion that the tRNA acceptor stem houses an independent code for the same 20 amino acids that likely functioned earlier in the emergence of genetics. The acceptor-stem code, related to amino acid size, is distinct from a code in the anticodon that is related to amino acid polarity. Details of the acceptor-stem code suggest that it was useful in preserving key properties of stereochemically-encoded peptides that had developed the capacity to interact catalytically with RNA. The quantitative embedding of the chemical properties of amino acids into tRNA bases has implications for the origins of molecular biology.

Cite this paper

APA 7

Carter, C. W., & Wolfenden, R. (2015). tRNA acceptor-stem and anticodon bases embed separate features of amino acid chemistry. RNA Biology, 13(2), 145–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/15476286.2015.1112488

MLA 9

Carter, Charles W., and Richard Wolfenden. “tRNA acceptor-stem and anticodon bases embed separate features of amino acid chemistry.” RNA Biology, vol. 13, no. 2, 2015, pp. 145–51, https://doi.org/10.1080/15476286.2015.1112488.

Chicago

Carter, Charles W., and Richard Wolfenden. 2015. “tRNA acceptor-stem and anticodon bases embed separate features of amino acid chemistry.” RNA Biology 13 (2): 145–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/15476286.2015.1112488.

Harvard

Carter, C.W. and Wolfenden, R. (2015) ‘tRNA acceptor-stem and anticodon bases embed separate features of amino acid chemistry’, RNA Biology, 13(2), pp. 145–151. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/15476286.2015.1112488.

BibTeX

@article{carter2015trna,
  title = {{tRNA acceptor-stem and anticodon bases embed separate features of amino acid chemistry}},
  author = {Carter, Charles W. and Wolfenden, Richard},
  journal = {RNA Biology},
  volume = {13},
  number = {2},
  pages = {145--151},
  year = {2015},
  doi = {10.1080/15476286.2015.1112488}
}

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