Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases structures

FIGURE 27-16 Nucleotide positions in tRNAs that are recognized by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Some positions (blue dots) are the same in all tRNAs and therefore cannot be used to discriminate one from another. Other positions are known recognition points for one (orange) or more (green) aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Structural features other than sequence are important for recognition by some of the synthetases. 

It was earlier considered that all the amino acid-activating synthetases were derived from a single primeval synthetase , so that all synthetases would have similar structures. Surprisingly, however, this is not the case. When the primary sequences, and in part the secondary and tertiary structures, of all the synthetases had been determined, clear differences in their construction became obvious. The aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases consist either of one single polypeptide chain (a) or of two or four identical polypeptides (ot2 or 04). In addition, there are heterogeneously constructed species with two sets of two identical polypeptide chains (OC2P2). This nomenclature indicates that, for each synthetase, a or P refers to a primary structure. The number of amino acids can vary from 334 to more than 1,000. 

R. Chenevert S. Bernier J. Lapointe, Inhibitors of Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases as Antibiotics and Tools for Structural and Mechanistic Studies. In Translation Mechanisms J. Lapointe, L. Brakier-Gingras, Eds. Eurekah.com/Landes Bioscience and Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers Georgetown TX, 2003 pp 416-428. 

The structures of all the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases of E. coli have been determined. Researchers have divided them into two classes (Table 27-7) based on substantial differences in primary and tertiary structure and in reaction mechanism (Fig. 27-14) these two classes are the same in all organisms. There is no evidence for a common ancestor, and the biological, chemical, or evolutionary reasons for two enzyme classes for essentially identical processes remain obscure. 

In addition to proofreading after formation of the aminoacyl-AMP intermediate, most aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases can also hydrolyze the ester linkage between amino acids and tRNAs in the aminoacyl-tRNAs. This hydrolysis is greatly accelerated for incorrectly charged tRNAs, providing yet a third filter to enhance the fidelity of the overall process. The few aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases that activate amino acids with no close structural relatives (Cys-tRNA synthetase, for example) demonstrate little or no proofreading activity in these cases, the active site for aminoacylation can sufficiently discriminate between the proper substrate and any incorrect amino acid. 

FIGURE 27-17 Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Both synthetases are complexed with their cognate tRNAs (green stick structures). Bound ATP (red) pinpoints the active site near the end of the aminoacyl arm. 

By observing changes in nucleotides that alter substrate specificity, researchers have identified nucleotide positions that are involved in discrimination by the amino-acyl-tRNA synthetases. These nucleotide positions seem to be concentrated in the amino acid arm and the anticodon arm, including the nucleotides of the anticodon itself, but are also located in other parts of the tRNA molecule. Determination of the crystal structures of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases complexed with their cognate tRNAs and ATP has added a great deal to our understanding of these interactions (Fig. 27-17). 

Importance of the Second Genetic Code Some aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases do not recognize and bind the anticodon of their cognate tRNAs but instead use other structural features of the tRNAs to impart binding specificity. The tRNAs for alanine apparently fall into this category. 

Class II aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases contain a different set of three "signature sequences," two of which form an ATP-binding catalytic domain. The active site structure is built on an antiparallel (3 sheet and is surrounded by two helices (Fig. 29-9). Each class contains subgroups with inserted loops that form other domains. In the following tabulation the reference numbers refer to three-dimensional structural studies. 

Many proteins have structures related to those of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases.282 283 For example, asparagine synthetase A functions via an aspartyl-adenylate intermediate (Chapter 24, Section B), and its structure resembls that of aspartyl-tRNA synthetase.284 The his G gene of histidine biosynthesis (Fig. 25-13) encodes an ATP phosphoribosyltransferase with structural homology to the catalytic domain of histidyl-tRNA synthetase.284 The reason is not clear, but some aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, especially the histidyl-tRNA synthetase, are common autoantigens for the inflammatory disease polymyosititis.285 286... 

Each synthetase module contains three active site domains The A domain catalyzes activation of the amino acid (or hydroxyacid) by formation of an aminoacyl- or hydroxyacyl-adenylate, just as occurs with aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. However, in three-dimensional structure the A domains do not resemble either of the classes of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases but are similar to luciferyl adenylate (Eq. 23-46) and acyl-CoA synthetases.11 The T-domain or peptidyl carrier protein domain resembles the acyl carrier domains of fatty acid and polyketide synthetases in containing bound phos-phopantetheine (Fig. 14-1). Its -SH group, like the CCA-terminal ribosyl -OH group of a tRNA, displaces AMP, transferring the activated amino acid or hydroxy acid to the thiol sulfur of phosphopan-tetheine. The C-domain catalyzes condensation (peptidyl transfer). The first or initiation module lacks a C-domain, and the final termination module contains an extra termination domain. The process parallels that outlined in Fig. 21-11.1... 

Norcum MT, Warrington JA. Structural analysis of the multienzyme aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase complex A three domain model based on reversible chemical cross-linking. Protein Sci 1998 7 79-87. 

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) compose a family of essential enzymes that attach amino acids covalently to tRNA molecules during protein synthesis. Some aaRSs possess a hydrolytic amino acid editing function to ensure the fidelity of protein synthesis. In addition, aminoacylation can occur by indirect pathways that rely on mischarged tRNA intermediates and enzymes other than aaRSs. Throughout evolution, structural and functional divergence of aaRSs has yielded diverse secondary roles. 

Fan L, Sanschagrin PC, Kaguni LS, Kuhn LA. The accessory subunit of mtDNA polymerase shares structural homology with aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases implications for a dual role as a primer recognition factor and processivity clamp. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 1999 96 9527-9532. 

Structural Insights, Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases. The first parts of the tutorial focus on the structural differences that distinguish class I and class II aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. The final section of the tutorial looks at the editing process that most tRNA synthetases use to correct tRNA acylation errors. 

At least one aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase exists for each amino acid. The diverse sizes, subunit composition, and sequences of these enzymes vv ere be vildering for many years. Could it be that essentially all synthetases evolved independently The determination of the three-dimensional structures of several synthetases follo ved by more-refined sequence comparisons revealed that different synthetases are, in fact, related. Specifically, synthetases fall into tvv o classes, termed class I and class II, each of vv hich includes enzymes specific for 10 of the 20 amino acids (Table 29.2). Glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase is a representative of class I. The activation domain for class I has a Rossmann fold (Section 16.1.101. Threonyl-tRNA synthetase (see Figure 29.11) is a representative of class II. The activation domain for class II consists largely of P strands. Intriguingly, synthetases from the tvv o classes bind to different faces of the tRNA molecule (Figure 29.14). The CCA arm of tRNA adopts different conformations to accommodate these interactions the arm is in the helical conformation observed for free tRNA (see Figures 29.5 and 29.6) for class II enzymes and in a hairpin conformation for class I enzymes. These two classes also differ in other ways. 

Table 29.2. Classification and subunit structure of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases in K coli...

Protein synthesis is called translation because information present as a nucleic acid sequence is translated into a different language, the sequence of amino acids in a protein. This complex process is mediated by the coordinated interplay of more than a hundred macromolecules, including mRNA, rRNAs, tRNAs, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and protein factors. Given that proteins typically comprise from 100 to 1000 amino acids, the frequency at vchich an incorrect amino acid is incorporated in the course of protein synthesis must be less than 10 4. Transfer RNAs are the adaptors that make the link betvceen a nucleic acid and an amino acid. These molecules, single chains of about 80 nucleotides, have an L-shaped structure. 

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