title: The A-minor motifs in the decoding recognition process.
abstract: The formation of A-minor motifs, mediated by adenines binding into the shallow/minor groove of stacked and helical Watson-Crick base pairs, is described. The conformations of the bacterial ribosomal decoding A site in various crystal structures are reviewed. The adenines A1492 and A1493 of the A site are seen either tucked in within the internal loop or bulging out and poised for interaction. This dynamic equilibrium contributes to the decoding process of the codon:anticodon base pairings. Aminoglycoside antibiotics lock the conformation of the A site in a single state with bulged-out adenines and thereby disrupt regulation of the decoding process.
authors.affiliation: Institut de biologie moleculaire et cellulaire du CNRS, UPR 'Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN', universite Louis-Pasteur, 15, rue R.-Descartes, 67084 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lescoute
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Westhof
mesh_terms: D000225:Adenine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000926:Anticodon / Q000235:genetics; D020029:Base Pairing / Q000235:genetics; D001665:Binding Sites / Q000235:genetics; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation / Q000187:drug effects; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000926:Anticodon; D003062:Codon; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal; D000225:Adenine