title: A bifunctional tRNA for in vitro selection.
abstract: In vitro selection is a powerful approach for generating novel aptamers and catalysts. Currently, several methods are being developed to extend this technique to proteins. In principle, selection methods could be applied to any library whose members can be replicated. Here, we describe a bifunctional tRNA that fuses translation products to their mRNAs. The utility of peptide-tRNA-mRNA fusions for in vitro selection was illustrated by the selective enrichment of tagged peptides-together with their mRNAs-by affinity chromatography. Our system can generate libraries larger than 10(11). Because library members can be copied and amplified, they provide a means for applying in vitro selection procedures to peptides and proteins. Furthermore, because the system is amenable to translation with misacylated tRNAs, a wide range of unusual monomers could be used to make libraries of nonstandard polymers for selection experiments.
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Chuck
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Merryman
authors.forename: Earl
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Weinstein
authors.forename: Stanislaw F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Wnuk
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Bartel
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019151:Peptide Library; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D012343:RNA, Transfer / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019151:Peptide Library; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D012343:RNA, Transfer