{"title":"The Roots of Genetic Coding in Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetase Duality.","authors":"Charles W Carter, Peter R Wills","doi":"10.1146/annurev-biochem-071620-021218","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Codon-dependent translation underlies genetics and phylogenetic inferences, but its origins pose two challenges. Prevailing narratives cannot account for the fact that aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs), which translate the genetic code, must collectively enforce the rules used to assemble themselves. Nor can they explain how specific assignments arose from rudimentary differentiation between ancestral aaRSs and corresponding transfer RNAs (tRNAs). Experimental deconstruction of the two aaRS superfamilies created new experimental tools with which to analyze the emergence of the code. Amino acid and tRNA substrate recognition are linked to phase transfer free energies of amino acids and arise largely from aaRS class-specific differences in secondary structure. Sensitivity to protein folding rules endowed ancestral aaRS-tRNA pairs with the feedback necessary to rapidly compare alternative genetic codes and coding sequences. These and other experimental data suggest that the aaRS bidirectional genetic ancestry stabilized the differentiation and interdependence required to initiate and elaborate the genetic coding table.</p>","PeriodicalId":7980,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"349-373"},"PeriodicalIF":20.5000,"publicationDate":"2021-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"16","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annual review of biochemistry","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-biochem-071620-021218","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2021/3/29 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 16
Abstract
Codon-dependent translation underlies genetics and phylogenetic inferences, but its origins pose two challenges. Prevailing narratives cannot account for the fact that aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs), which translate the genetic code, must collectively enforce the rules used to assemble themselves. Nor can they explain how specific assignments arose from rudimentary differentiation between ancestral aaRSs and corresponding transfer RNAs (tRNAs). Experimental deconstruction of the two aaRS superfamilies created new experimental tools with which to analyze the emergence of the code. Amino acid and tRNA substrate recognition are linked to phase transfer free energies of amino acids and arise largely from aaRS class-specific differences in secondary structure. Sensitivity to protein folding rules endowed ancestral aaRS-tRNA pairs with the feedback necessary to rapidly compare alternative genetic codes and coding sequences. These and other experimental data suggest that the aaRS bidirectional genetic ancestry stabilized the differentiation and interdependence required to initiate and elaborate the genetic coding table.
期刊介绍:
The Annual Review of Biochemistry, in publication since 1932, sets the standard for review articles in biological chemistry and molecular biology. Since its inception, these volumes have served as an indispensable resource for both the practicing biochemist and students of biochemistry.