Wheat germ tRNAs containing uridine in place of ribothymidine: a characterization of an unusual class of eukaryotic tRNAs.

An unusual class of wheat germ tRNAs has been isolated which completely lacks ribothymidine (rT) and contains an unmodified uridine in its place. We discuss here the isolation, identification and properties of these tRNAs. The rT-lacking tRNAs of wheat germ are essentially limited to the glycine isoacceptors (a minimum of five identifiable species), three threonine and at least, one tyrosine tRNA. All tRNAs were obtained 70-100% pure by chromatographic methods, and were detected by their ability to be methylated by E. coli rT-forming uracil methyltransferase with methyl-labeled S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) as the methyl donor. In vitro methylation of each of the tRNAs resulted in the formation of 1 mole of rT per mole of tRNA. In the one case analyzed in detail (tRNA1Gly), all of the rT was found to be located at the 23rd position from the 3' end of the tRNA molecule. Following complete digestion of four highly purified glycine isoacceptors (tRNAGly1,4,5,6) to nucleosides and subsequent periodate oxidation and 3H potassium borohydride reduction, all were found to contain an unusually high level of 5-methylcytidine (m5C) (3-4 residues per molecule), and all contained no rT. The possible correlation between the presence of m5C and the absence of rT is discussed. All of the chromatographically purified glycine tRNAs function in a wheat germ cell-free protein synthesizing system and polymerize glycine in response to either poly G or poly (G, U).