Identification of lethal mutations in yeast threonyl-tRNA synthetase revealing critical residues in its human homolog.

ABSTRACT: Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) are a group of ancient enzymes catalyzing aminoacylation and editing reactions for protein biosynthesis. Increasing evidence suggests that these critical enzymes are often associated with mammalian disorders. Therefore, complete determination of the enzymes functions is essential for informed diagnosis and treatment. Here, we show that a yeast knock-out strain for the threonyl-tRNA synthetase (ThrRS) gene is an excellent platform for such an investigation. Saccharomyces cerevisiae ThrRS has a unique modular structure containing four structural domains and a eukaryote-specific N-terminal extension. Using randomly mutated libraries of the ThrRS gene (thrS) and a genetic screen, a set of loss-of-function mutants were identified. The mutations affected the sy

SUBMITTER: Ruan ZR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4340410 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature