title: Genes coding for the selenocysteine-inserting tRNA species from Desulfomicrobium baculatum and Clostridium thermoaceticum: structural and evolutionary implications.
abstract: The genes (selC) coding for the selenocysteine-inserting tRNA species (tRNA(Sec)) from Clostridium thermoaceticum and Desulfomicrobium baculatum were cloned and sequenced. Although they differ in numerous positions from the sequence of the Escherichia coli selC gene, they were able to complement the selC lesion of an E. coli mutant and to promote selenoprotein formation in the heterologous host. The tRNA(Sec) species from both organisms possess all of the unique primary, secondary, and tertiary structural features exhibited by E. coli tRNA(Sec) (C. Baron, E. Westhof, A. Böck, and R. Giegé, J. Mol. Biol. 231:274-292, 1993). The structural and functional properties of the tRNA(Sec) species from prokaryotes analyzed thus far support the notion that tRNA(Sec) may be an evolutionarily conserved structure whose function in the primordial genetic code was to decode UGA with selenocysteine.
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie, Universität München, Germany.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tormay
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wilting
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heider
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Böck
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003013:Clostridium / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D005838:Genotype; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D010641:Phenotype; D010957:Plasmids; D011514:Proteus vulgaris / Q000235:genetics; D012345:RNA, Transfer, Amino Acid-Specific / Q000235:genetics*; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012643:Selenium / Q000378:metabolism; D017279:Selenocysteine / Q000378:metabolism; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D012345:RNA, Transfer, Amino Acid-Specific; C036928:tRNA, selenocysteine-; D017279:Selenocysteine; D012643:Selenium