Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Curr Biol. 2024 Oct 7;34(19):R884-R888. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.08.029.
Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases hold the key to the genetic code and assign nucleic acid-based codons to amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. In their ability to recognize identity elements on transfer RNAs (tRNAs), some as simple as a single base pair, they ensure that the same proteins are formed each time information embedded in DNA is transcribed into messenger RNA (mRNA) and translated into proteins (Figure 1A). Thus, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase active sites are conserved; however, since their evolutionary origin, their functions have been co-opted, expanded on and played novel roles during evolution. Below, we provide an overview of the many functions of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases - from their role in translation, one of the most fundamental processes of all life, to newly discovered, diverse functions.
氨酰-tRNA 合成酶是遗传密码的关键，负责将基于核酸的密码子分配给氨基酸，即蛋白质的构建块。它们能够识别转移 RNA（tRNA）上的身份元素，有些元素简单到只有一个碱基对，这确保了每次将嵌入 DNA 中的信息转录成信使 RNA（mRNA）并翻译成蛋白质时（图 1A），都会形成相同的蛋白质。因此，氨酰-tRNA 合成酶的活性位点是保守的；然而，自其进化起源以来，它们的功能已经被共同采用、扩展，并在进化过程中发挥了新的作用。下面，我们概述了氨酰-tRNA 合成酶的许多功能——从它们在翻译中的作用（所有生命中最基本的过程之一）到新发现的多样化功能。
