title: Methionyl-tRNA synthetase.
abstract: Methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MetRS) belongs to the family of 20 enzymes essential for protein biosynthesis. It links covalently methionine with its cognate tRNA. Crystal structures solved for bacterial MetRSs have given a number of interesting insights into enzyme architecture and methionylation catalysis. A comparison of sequences of MetRSs belonging to all kingdoms of life, as well as numerous biochemical and genetic studies have revealed the presence of various additional domains appended to the catalytic core of synthetase. They are responsible for interactions with tRNA and proteins. Tertiary structure of C-terminal tRNA-binding appendices can be deduced from those determined for their homologues: tRNA binding protein 111 and endothelial monocyte-activating polypeptide II. Contacts between MetRS and other proteins could be mediated not only by noncatalytic peptides but also by structural elements present in the catalytic core, e.g. Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motifs. Additional activities involve MetRS in the maintenance of translational fidelity and in coordination of ribosome biogenesis with protein synthesis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Deniziak
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barciszewski
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D001665:Binding Sites; D006801:Humans; D008718:Methionine-tRNA Ligase / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D008718:Methionine-tRNA Ligase