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- Title
Pyrrolysine encoded by UAG in Archaea: charging of a UAG-decoding specialized tRNA.
- Authors
Srinivasan, Gayathri; James, Carey M; Krzycki, Joseph A
- Abstract
Pyrrolysine is a lysine derivative encoded by the UAG codon in methylamine methyltransferase genes of Methanosarcina barkeri. Near a methyltransferase gene cluster is the pylT gene, which encodes an unusual transfer RNA (tRNA) with a CUA anticodon. The adjacent pylS gene encodes a class II aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase that charges the pylT-derived tRNA with lysine but is not closely related to known lysyl-tRNA synthetases. Homologs of pylS and pylT are found in a Gram-positive bacterium. Charging a tRNA(CUA) with lysine is a likely first step in translating UAG amber codons as pyrrolysine in certain methanogens. Our results indicate that pyrrolysine is the 22nd genetically encoded natural amino acid.
- Publication
Science (New York, N.Y.), 2002, Vol 296, Issue 5572, p1459
- ISSN
1095-9203
- Publication type
Journal Article
- DOI
10.1126/science.1069588