TRNA structure

An excellent review of tRNA structures and dynamics was presented in 1983 08°) o y subsequent fluorescence decay and FPA studies are reviewed here. The use of excitation transfer to measure intramolecular distances1 and the use of fluorescence as a probe of protein/tRNA interactions082 l85) lie outside the scope of this chapter. 

E. Verkamp A. M. Kumar A. Lloyd O. Martins N. Stange-Thomann D. Soil, Glutamyl-tRNA as an Intermediate in Glutamate Conversions. In tRNA Structure, Biosynthesis, and Function D. Soil, U. L. RajBhandary, Eds. American Society for Microbiology Washington, DC, 1995 pp 545-550. 

We know fhat the anticodon is a triplet of bases occupying the anticodon loop in the tRNA structure. By Watson-Crick base-pairing, this anticodon can recognize the... 

Dynamics of tRNA is a process that changes intrinsic tRNA motions in response to binding to one or more partners. The intrinsic tRNA motions arise from the covalent and noncovalent restraining forces that hold the tRNA structure together. There are typically 76 nucleotides in each... 

Opening of a base pair in tRNAGln accompanies complexation with its cognate glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase [715]. All the tRNAs have an L-shaped three-dimensional structure as shown in Fig. 20.8. At one end of the L is the anticodon triplet it codes for the amino acid for which the respective tRNA is specific. At the other end of the L is the amino acid acceptor stem with the free O H of the terminal invariant adenosine, A76 in tRNAoln. The amino acid is attached here through an ester linkage in a reaction which is catalyzed by enzymes called synthetases. In contrast to the uniform tRNA structure, synthetases vary in amino acid sequence, molecular weight and subunit composition. 

Tel. 201-932-4619, e-mail ndbadmin helix.rutgers.edu Relational database with data on more than 200 DNA, RNA, and tRNA structures, including coordinates for more than 100 of them. 

The three-dimensional structure of a tRNA molecule was first determined in 1974 through x-ray crystallographic studies carried out in the laboratories of Alexander Rich and Aaron Klug. The structure determined, that of yeast phenylalanyl-tRNA, is highly similar to all structures subsequently determined for other tRNA molecules. The most important properties of the tRNA structure are ... 

Figure 29.5. L-Shaped tRNA Structure. A skeletal model of yeast phenylalanyl-tRNA reveals the L-shaped structure. The CCA region is at the end of one arm, and the anticodon loop is at the end of the other.

Figure 29.32. Structure of Ribosome Release Factor (RRF). RRF is another protein that resembles tRNA. The a helices of this protein mimic the tRNA structure. In contrast, in EF-G, P strands are the mimics, revealing an independent evolutionary origin.

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