CCA-Addition Gone Wild: Unusual Occurrence and Phylogeny of Four Different tRNA Nucleotidyltransferases in Acanthamoeba castellanii.

ABSTRACT: tRNAs are important players in the protein synthesis machinery, where they act as adapter molecules for translating the mRNA codons into the corresponding amino acid sequence. In a series of highly conserved maturation steps, the primary transcripts are converted into mature tRNAs. In the amoebozoan Acanthamoeba castellanii, a highly unusual evolution of some of these processing steps was identified that are based on unconventional RNA polymerase activities. In this context, we investigated the synthesis of the 3'-terminal CCA-end that is added posttranscriptionally by a specialized polymerase, the tRNA nucleotidyltransferase (CCA-adding enzyme). The majority of eukaryotic organisms carry only a single gene for a CCA-adding enzyme that acts on both the cytosolic and the mitochondrial tRNA

SUBMITTER: Erber L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7947759 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature