Journal
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
Volume 36, Issue 17, Pages 5472-5481Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkn529
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Funding
- National Institutes of Health [GM52557]
- Colorado RNA Center
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES [R01GM052557] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
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Secondary and tertiary structures of tRNAs are remarkably preserved from bacteria to humans, the notable exception being the mitochondrial (m) tRNAs of metazoans, which often deviate substantially from the canonical cloverleaf (secondary) or 'L'-shaped (tertiary) structure. Many metazoan mtRNAs lack either the T psi C (T) or dihydrouridine (D) loops of the canonical cloverleaf, which are known to confer structural rigidity to the folded structure. Thus, the absence of canonical T psi C-D interactions likely results in greater dispersion of anticodon-acceptor interstem angle than for canonical tRNAs. To test this hypothesis, we have assessed the dispersion of the anticodon-acceptor angle for bovine mtRNA(Ser)(AGY), which lacks the canonical D arm and is thus incapable of forming stabilizing interarm interactions. Using the method of transient electric birefringence (TEB), and by changing the helical torsion angle between a core mtRNA bend and a second bend of known angle/rigidity, we have demonstrated that the core of mtRNA Ser(AGY) has substantially greater flexibility than its well-characterized canonical counterpart, yeast cytoplasmic tRNA(Phe). These results suggest that increased flexibility, in addition to a more open interstem angle, would allow both noncanonical and canonical mtRNAs to utilize the same protein synthetic apparatus.
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