title: GEK1, a gene product of Arabidopsis thaliana involved in ethanol tolerance, is a D-aminoacyl-tRNA deacylase.
abstract: GEK1, an Arabidopsis thaliana gene product, was recently identified through its involvement in ethanol tolerance. Later, this protein was shown to display 26% strict identity with archaeal d-Tyr-tRNA(Tyr) deacylases. To determine whether it actually possessed deacylase activity, the product of the GEK1 open reading frame was expressed in Escherichia coli from a multi-copy plasmid. Purified GEK1 protein contains two zinc ions and proves to be a broad-specific, markedly active d-aminoacyl-tRNA deacylase in vitro. Moreover, GEK1 expression is capable of functionally compensating in E. coli for the absence of endogeneous d-Tyr- tRNA(Tyr) deacylase. Possible connections between exposure of plants to ethanol/acetaldehyde and misaminoacylation of tRNA by d-amino acids are considered.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biochimie, UMR CNRS 7654, Département de Biologie, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wydau
authors.forename: Maria-Laura
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ferri-Fioni
authors.forename: Sylvain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blanquet
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Plateau
mesh_terms: D000079:Acetaldehyde / Q000494:pharmacology; D019881:Aminoacyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000201:enzymology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002384:Catalysis; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000187:drug effects; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C490038:GEK1 protein, Arabidopsis; D000431:Ethanol; D019881:Aminoacyltransferases; C120167:D-tyrosine tRNA(Tyr) deacylase; D000079:Acetaldehyde; D015032:Zinc