Structural basis for discrimination of L-phenylalanine from L-tyrosine by phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase

Olga Kotik-Kogan, Nina Moor, Dmitry Tworowski, Mark Safro

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

65 Scopus citations

Abstract

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) exert control over the faithful transfer of amino acids onto cognate tRNAs. Since chemical structures of various amino acids closely resemble each other, it is difficult to discriminate between them. Editing activity has been evolved by certain aaRSs to resolve the problem. In this study, we determined the crystal structures of complexes of T. thermophilus phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (PheRS) with L-tyrosine, p-chloro-phenylalanine, and a nonhydrolyzable tyrosyl-adenylate analog. The structures demonstrate plasticity of the synthetic site capable of binding substrates larger than phenylalanine and provide a structural basis for the proofreading mechanism. The editing site is localized at the B3/B4 interface, 35 Å from the synthetic site. Gluβ334 plays a crucial role in the specific recognition of the Tyr moiety in the editing site. The tyrosyl-adenylate analog binds exclusively in the synthetic site. Both structural data and tyrosine-dependent ATP hydrolysis enhanced by tRNAPhe provide evidence for a preferential posttransfer editing pathway in the phenylalanine-specific system.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1799-1807
Number of pages9
JournalStructure
Volume13
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2005
Externally publishedYes

Funding

We are grateful to M. Tukalo and S. Cusack for Tyr-AMS. We thank V. Ankilova for purification of T. thermophilus PheRS. This work was supported by the Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular Structure and Assemblies and by grants to N.M. from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (03-04-48384) and to M.S. from the Israel Science Foundation (1034/03).

FundersFunder number
Russian Foundation for Basic Research03-04-48384
Israel Science Foundation1034/03

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