Di Giulio Massimo
Institute of Genetics and Biophysics, 'Adriano Buzzati Travers,' CNR, Naples, Napoli, Italy.
J Mol Evol. 2009 Jul;69(1):1-9. doi: 10.1007/s00239-009-9248-z. Epub 2009 Jun 2.
A comparison is made among all the models proposed to explain the origin of the tRNA molecule. The conclusion reached is that, for the model predicting that the tRNA molecule originated after the assembly of two hairpin-like structures, molecular fossils have been found in the half-genes of the tRNAs of Nanoarchaeum equitans. These might be the witnesses of the transition stage predicted by the model through which the evolution of the tRNA molecule passed, thus providing considerable corroboration for this model.
对所有为解释tRNA分子起源而提出的模型进行了比较。得出的结论是，对于预测tRNA分子起源于两个发夹样结构组装之后的模型而言，在嗜纳米古菌的tRNA半基因中发现了分子化石。这些可能是该模型所预测的tRNA分子进化经过的过渡阶段的见证者，从而为该模型提供了相当多的确证。
