scholarly journals Nucleolar Localization of Human Methionyl–Trna Synthetase and Its Role in Ribosomal RNA Synthesis

2000 ◽  
Vol 149 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young-Gyu Ko ◽  
Young-Sun Kang ◽  
Eun-Kyoung Kim ◽  
Sang Gyu Park ◽  
Sunghoon Kim

Human aminoacyl–tRNA synthetases (ARSs) are normally located in cytoplasm and are involved in protein synthesis. In the present work, we found that human methionyl–tRNA synthetase (MRS) was translocated to nucleolus in proliferative cells, but disappeared in quiescent cells. The nucleolar localization of MRS was triggered by various growth factors such as insulin, PDGF, and EGF. The presence of MRS in nucleoli depended on the integrity of RNA and the activity of RNA polymerase I in the nucleolus. The ribosomal RNA synthesis was specifically decreased by the treatment of anti-MRS antibody as determined by nuclear run-on assay and immunostaining with anti-Br antibody after incorporating Br-UTP into nascent RNA. Thus, human MRS plays a role in the biogenesis of rRNA in nucleoli, while it is catalytically involved in protein synthesis in cytoplasm.

eLife ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tammy J Bullwinkle ◽  
Noah M Reynolds ◽  
Medha Raina ◽  
Adil Moghal ◽  
Eleftheria Matsa ◽  
...  

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases use a variety of mechanisms to ensure fidelity of the genetic code and ultimately select the correct amino acids to be used in protein synthesis. The physiological necessity of these quality control mechanisms in different environments remains unclear, as the cost vs benefit of accurate protein synthesis is difficult to predict. We show that in Escherichia coli, a non-coded amino acid produced through oxidative damage is a significant threat to the accuracy of protein synthesis and must be cleared by phenylalanine-tRNA synthetase in order to prevent cellular toxicity caused by mis-synthesized proteins. These findings demonstrate how stress can lead to the accumulation of non-canonical amino acids that must be excluded from the proteome in order to maintain cellular viability.


Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1320
Author(s):  
Marc Muraski ◽  
Emil Nilsson ◽  
Benjamin Weekley ◽  
Sandhya Bharti Sharma ◽  
Rebecca W. Alexander

The structural organization and functionality of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases have been expanded through polypeptide additions to their core aminoacylation domain. We have identified a novel domain appended to the methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MetRS) of the intracellular pathogen Mycoplasma penetrans. Sequence analysis of this N-terminal region suggests the appended domain is an aminotransferase, which we demonstrate here. The aminotransferase domain of MpMetRS is capable of generating methionine from its α-keto acid analog, 2-keto-4-methylthiobutyrate (KMTB). The methionine thus produced can be subsequently attached to cognate tRNAMet in the MpMetRS aminoacylation domain. Genomic erosion in the Mycoplasma species has impaired many canonical biosynthetic pathways, causing them to rely on their host for numerous metabolites. It is still unclear if this bifunctional MetRS is a key part of pathogen life cycle or is a neutral consequence of the reductive evolution experienced by Mycoplasma species.


1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (18) ◽  
pp. 5880-5884 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian S. Hamann ◽  
Kevin R. Sowers ◽  
Richard S. A. Lipman ◽  
Ya-Ming Hou

ABSTRACT The complete genomic sequencing of Methanococcus jannaschii cannot identify the gene for the cysteine-specific member of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. However, we show here that enzyme activity is present in the cell lysate of M. jannaschii. The demonstration of this activity suggests a direct pathway for the synthesis of cysteinyl-tRNACys during protein synthesis.


1998 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 669-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Deniziak ◽  
M Mirande ◽  
J Barciszewski

Three overlapping clones of cDNA, Mos43, Mos28 and Mos60, coding for methionyl-tRNA synthetase were obtained by screening the Oryza sativa lambda gt11 library. Their nucleotide sequence of 2850 bp was determined. The deduced amino-acid sequence of the isolated clones contains a HLGN and KFSKS motifs, which are conserved for this family of enzymes and have been proposed to be the signature sequences for class I aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. A comparison of the rice MetRS primary structure with those deposited in EMBL/GenBank points to its high homology to yeast, human and Caenorhabditis elegans MetRSs. Interestingly, a great similarity of its C terminus to endothelial-monocyte-activating polypeptide II (EMAPII) and yeast protein G4p1 was observed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haissi Cui ◽  
Mridu Kapur ◽  
Jolene K Diedrich ◽  
John R Yates III ◽  
Susan L Ackerman ◽  
...  

Abstract During mRNA translation, tRNAs are charged by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and subsequently used by ribosomes. A multi-enzyme aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase complex (MSC) has been proposed to increase protein synthesis efficiency by passing charged tRNAs to ribosomes. An alternative function is that the MSC repurposes specific synthetases that are released from the MSC upon cues for functions independent of translation. To explore this, we generated mammalian cells in which arginyl-tRNA synthetase and/or glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase were absent from the MSC. Protein synthesis, under a variety of stress conditions, was unchanged. Most strikingly, levels of charged tRNAArg and tRNAGln remained unchanged and no ribosome pausing was observed at codons for arginine and glutamine. Thus, increasing or regulating protein synthesis efficiency is not dependent on arginyl-tRNA synthetase and glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase in the MSC. Alternatively, and consistent with previously reported ex-translational roles requiring changes in synthetase cellular localizations, our manipulations of the MSC visibly changed localization.


mBio ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Shepherd ◽  
Michael Ibba

ABSTRACTAminoacyl-tRNA synthetases provide the first step in protein synthesis quality control by discriminating cognate from noncognate amino acid and tRNA substrates. While substrate specificity is enhanced in many instances bycis-andtrans-editing pathways, it has been revealed that in organisms such asStreptococcus pneumoniaesome aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases display significant tRNA mischarging activity. To investigate the extent of tRNA mischarging in this pathogen, the aminoacylation profiles of class I isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IleRS) and class II lysyl-tRNA synthetase (LysRS) were determined. Pneumococcal IleRS mischarged tRNAIlewith both Val, as demonstrated in other bacteria, and Leu in a tRNA sequence-dependent manner. IleRS substrate specificity was achieved in an editing-independent manner, indicating that tRNA mischarging would only be significant under growth conditions where Ile is depleted. Pneumococcal LysRS was found to misaminoacylate tRNALyswith Ala and to a lesser extent Thr and Ser, with mischarging efficiency modulated by the presence of an unusual U4:G69 wobble pair in the acceptor stems of both pneumococcal tRNALysisoacceptors. Addition of thetrans-editing factor MurM, which also functions in peptidoglycan synthesis, reduced Ala-tRNALysproduction by LysRS, providing evidence for cross talk between the protein synthesis and cell wall biogenesis pathways. Mischarging of tRNALysby AlaRS was also observed, and this would provide additional potential MurM substrates. More broadly, the extensive mischarging activities now described for a number ofStreptococcus pneumoniaeaminoacyl-tRNA synthetases suggest that adaptive misaminoacylation may contribute significantly to the viability of this pathogen during amino acid starvation.IMPORTANCEStreptococcus pneumoniaeis a common causative agent of several debilitating and potentially life-threatening infections, such as pneumonia, meningitis, and infectious endocarditis. Such infections are increasingly difficult to treat due to widespread development of penicillin resistance. High-level penicillin resistance is known to depend in part upon MurM, a protein involved in both aminoacyl-tRNA-dependent synthesis of indirect amino acid cross-linkages within cell wall peptidoglycan and in translation quality control. The involvement of MurM in both protein synthesis and antibiotic resistance identify it as a potential target for the development of new and potent antibiotics for pneumococcal infections. The goals of this work were to identify and characterizeS. pneumoniaepathways that can synthesize mischarged tRNAs and to relate these activities to expected changes in protein and peptidoglycan biosynthesis during antibiotic and nutritional stress.


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