Intricacies and surprises of nuclear-mitochondrial co-evolution.
In this issue of the Biochemical Journal, Watanabe and colleagues disclose another fascinating facet of the mitochondrial protein synthesis machinery: one of the two nematode mitochondrial elongation factors Tu, EF-Tu1, specifically recognizes the D-arm of T-armless tRNAs via a 57-amino-acid C-terminal extension that compensates for the reduction in tRNA structure. This principle provides a paradigm for the evolutionary events thought to have ignited the transition from an ancient 'RNA world' to the 'protein world' of today.
Willkomm
Dagmar K
DK
Hartmann
Roland K
RK
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism*; D010444:Peptide Elongation Factor Tu / Q000378:metabolism; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics
D010444:Peptide Elongation Factor Tu