Download MendeleyThe mechanism of pre-transfer editing in yeast mitochondrial threonyl-tRNA synthetase.
Ling, J., Peterson, K.M., Simonovic, I., Soll, D., Simonovic, M.(2012) J Biol Chem 287: 28518-28525
- PubMed: 22773845
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M112.372920
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
4EO4 - PubMed Abstract:
Accurate translation of mRNA into protein is a fundamental biological process critical for maintaining normal cellular functions. To ensure translational fidelity, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) employ pre-transfer and post-transfer editing activities to hydrolyze misactivated and mischarged amino acids, respectively. Whereas post-transfer editing, which requires either a specialized domain in aaRS or a trans-protein factor, is well described, the mechanism of pre-transfer editing is less understood. Here, we show that yeast mitochondrial threonyl-tRNA synthetase (MST1), which lacks an editing domain, utilizes pre-transfer editing to discriminate against serine. MST1 misactivates serine and edits seryl adenylate (Ser-AMP) in a tRNA-independent manner. MST1 hydrolyzes 80% of misactivated Ser-AMP at a rate 4-fold higher than that for the cognate threonyl adenylate (Thr-AMP) while releasing 20% of Ser-AMP into the solution. To understand the mechanism of pre-transfer editing, we solved the crystal structure of MST1 complexed with an analog of Ser-AMP. The binding of the Ser-AMP analog to MST1 induces conformational changes in the aminoacylation active site, and it positions a potential hydrolytic water molecule more favorably for nucleophilic attack. In addition, inhibition results reveal that the Ser-AMP analog binds the active site 100-fold less tightly than the Thr-AMP analog. In conclusion, we propose that the plasticity of the aminoacylation site in MST1 allows binding of Ser-AMP and the appropriate positioning of the hydrolytic water molecule.
Organizational Affiliation:
Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
