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tRNA creation by hairpin duplication.

Jeremy Widmann1, Massimo Di Giulio, Michael Yarus

  • 1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.

Journal of Molecular Evolution
|September 13, 2005
PubMed
Summary
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The modern transfer RNA (tRNA) cloverleaf structure likely evolved from a single hairpin duplication event. This duplication occurred before the divergence of tRNA specificities and the three domains of life.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • The evolutionary origin of the transfer RNA (tRNA) cloverleaf structure is a subject of ongoing research.
  • A prevailing hypothesis suggests the structure arose from the duplication of an ancestral hairpin precursor.
  • The precise timing of this proposed duplication event remains uncertain.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the timing of the proposed hairpin duplication event in tRNA evolution.
  • To assess the sequence identity patterns within modern tRNAs to infer their evolutionary history.

Main Methods:

  • Quantified sequence identity between the two halves of numerous contemporary tRNAs.
  • Compared these identity levels with those of computationally constructed chimeric tRNAs.

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  • Chimeric tRNAs were generated within and between phylogenetic/specificity groups.

    • Main Results:

    • Actual tRNAs exhibit significantly higher sequence identity between their halves than random sequences capable of forming the tRNA structure.
    • No significant difference was observed in the average sequence identity between halves of individual tRNAs versus chimeric tRNAs.
    • This indicates a conserved evolutionary pressure or constraint.

    Conclusions:

    • The findings support the hypothesis that the modern tRNA cloverleaf structure originated from a single hairpin duplication.
    • This crucial evolutionary event predates the divergence of modern tRNA specificities.
    • The duplication event also predates the divergence of the three primary domains of life (Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya).