Biochemistry of Aminoacyl tRNA Synthetase and tRNAs and Their Engineering for Cell-Free and Synthetic Cell Applications

Cell-free biology is increasingly utilized for engineering biological systems, incorporating novel functionality, and circumventing many of the complications associated with cells. The central dogma describes the information flow in biology consisting of transcription and translation steps to decode genetic information. Aminoacyl tRNA synthetases (AARSs) and tRNAs are key components involved in translation and thus protein synthesis. This review provides information on AARSs and tRNA biochemistry, their role in the translation process, summarizes progress in cell-free engineering of tRNAs and AARSs, and discusses prospects and challenges lying ahead in cell-free engineering.

Automated summary

Cell-free biology is increasingly used for engineering biological systems and bypassing the limitations associated with cells. This review focuses on the role of aminoacyl tRNA synthetases and tRNA in translation and protein synthesis, summarizes the progress in cell-free engineering of tRNAs and AARSs, and discusses the prospects and challenges in this field.