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Isolation of Translating Ribosomes Containing Peptidyl-tRNAs for Functional and Structural Analyses
Published on: February 25, 2011
Structural basis of the initial binding of tRNA(Ile) lysidine synthetase TilS with ATP and L-lysine
Mitsuo Kuratani1, Yuka Yoshikawa, Yoshitaka Bessho
1Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
Abstract:
In the bacterial genetic-code system, the codon AUA is decoded as isoleucine by tRNA(Ile)(2) with the lysidine residue at the wobble position. Lysidine is derived from cytidine, with ATP and L-lysine, by tRNA(Ile) lysidine synthetase (TilS), which is an N-type ATP pyrophosphatase. In this study, we determined the crystal structure of Aquifex aeolicus TilS, complexed with ATP, Mg2+, and L-lysine, at 2.5 A resolution. The presence of the TilS-specific subdomain causes the active site to have two separate gateways, a large hole and a narrow tunnel on the opposite side. ATP is bound inside the hole, and L-lysine is bound at the entrance of the tunnel. The conserved Asp36 in the PP-motif coordinates Mg2+. In these initial binding modes, the ATP, Mg2+, and L-lysine are held far apart from each other, but they seem to be brought together for the reaction upon cytidine binding, with putative structural changes of the complex.
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