Alanyl-tRNA synthetase genes of Vanderwaltozyma polyspora arose from duplication of a dual-functional predecessor of mitochondrial origin.

ABSTRACT: In eukaryotes, the cytoplasmic and mitochondrial forms of a given aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS) are typically encoded by two orthologous nuclear genes, one of eukaryotic origin and the other of mitochondrial origin. We herein report a novel scenario of aaRS evolution in yeast. While all other yeast species studied possess a single nuclear gene encoding both forms of alanyl-tRNA synthetase (AlaRS), Vanderwaltozyma polyspora, a yeast species descended from the same whole-genome duplication event as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, contains two distinct nuclear AlaRS genes, one specifying the cytoplasmic form and the other its mitochondrial counterpart. The protein sequences of these two isoforms are very similar to each other. The isoforms are actively expressed in vivo and are exclusively local

SUBMITTER: Chang CP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3245939 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature