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Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Isolation of Translating Ribosomes Containing Peptidyl-tRNAs for Functional and Structural Analyses
Published on: February 25, 2011
Type-II tRNAs and Evolution of Translation Systems and the Genetic Code
Yunsoo Kim1, Bruce Kowiatek2, Kristopher Opron3
1University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. yunsoo@umich.edu.
Abstract:
Because tRNA is the core biological intellectual property that was necessary to evolve translation systems, tRNAomes, ribosomes, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and the genetic code, the evolution of tRNA is the core story in evolution of life on earth. We have previously described the evolution of type-I tRNAs. Here, we use the same model to describe the evolution of type-II tRNAs, with expanded V loops. The models are strongly supported by inspection of typical tRNA diagrams, measuring lengths of V loop expansions, and analyzing the homology of V loop sequences to tRNA acceptor stems. Models for tRNA evolution provide a pathway for the inanimate-to-animate transition and for the evolution of translation systems, the genetic code, and cellular life.
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Translation is the process of synthesizing proteins from the genetic information carried by messenger RNA (mRNA). Following transcription, it constitutes the final step in the expression of genes. This process is carried out by ribosomes, complexes of protein and specialized RNA molecules. Ribosomes, transfer RNA (tRNA), and other proteins produce a chain of amino acids—the polypeptide—as the end product of translation.
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