The use of bonding between tRNAs to implement early peptide synthesis.

Continuation of early evolutionary bonding between tRNAs would provide a solution to residence time problems between peptidyl-tRNA and mRNA. It could also improve the speed of peptide bond formation by holding the amino acid close to the growing peptide. The tRNA clover leaf structure would allow each tRNA to form a T psi C(GA)-loop bond to one side and a D-loop bond to the other, hence fixing itself within a group of tRNAs, all attached to the mRNA. This can be developed into a system for peptide elongation in which bonds are made and broken in an ordered sequence, with each step triggering the next. This leads to a model system that fits with some recent proposals for a three-site ribosome.