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- **********************************************************
- * Aminoacyl-transfer RNA synthetases class-II signatures *
- **********************************************************
-
- Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (EC 6.1.1.-) [1] are a group of enzymes which
- activate amino acids and transfer them to specific tRNA molecules as the first
- step in protein biosynthesis. In prokaryotic organisms there are at least
- twenty different types of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, one for each different
- amino acid. In eukaryotes there are generally two aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases
- for each different amino acid: one cytosolic form and a mitochondrial form.
- While all these enzymes have a common function, they are widely diverse in
- terms of subunit size and of quaternary structure.
-
- The synthetases specific for alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, glycine,
- histidine, lysine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, and threonine are referred
- to as class-II synthetases [2 to 6] and probably have a common folding pattern
- in their catalytic domain for the binding of ATP and amino acid which is
- different to the Rossmann fold observed for the class I synthetases [7].
-
- Class-II tRNA synthetases do not share a high degree of similarity, however at
- least three conserved regions are present [2,5,8]. We have derived signature
- patterns from two of these regions.
-
- -Consensus pattern: [FYH]-R-x-[DE]-x(4,12)-[RH]-x(3)-F-x(3)-[DE]
- -Sequences known to belong to this class detected by the pattern: the majority
- of class-II tRNA synthetases with the exception of those specific for
- glycine and alanine as well as bacterial histidine.
- -Other sequence(s) detected in SWISS-PROT: 22.
-
- -Consensus pattern: [GSTALVF]-{DENQHRKP}-[GSTA]-[LIVMF]-[DE]-R-[LIVMF]-x-
- [LIVMSTAG]-[LIVMFY]
- -Sequences known to belong to this class detected by the pattern: the majority
- of class-II tRNA synthetases with the exception of those specific for serine
- and proline.
- -Other sequence(s) detected in SWISS-PROT: 82.
-
- -Expert(s) to contact by email: Leberman R.
- leberman@frembl51.bitnet
-
- -Last update: June 1994 / Text revised.
-
- [ 1] Schimmel P.
- Annu. Rev. Biochem. 56:125-158(1987).
- [ 2] Delarue M., Moras D.
- BioEssays 15:675-687(1993).
- [ 3] Schimmel P.
- Trends Biochem. Sci. 16:1-3(1991).
- [ 4] Nagel G.M., Doolittle R.F.
- Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88:8121-8125(1991).
- [ 5] Cusack S., Haertlein M., Leberman R.
- Nucleic Acids Res. 19:3489-3498(1991).
- [ 6] Cusack S.
- Biochimie 75:1077-1081(1993).
- [ 7] Cusack S., Berthet-Colominas C., Haertlein M., Nassar N., Leberman R.
- Nature 347:249-255(1990).
- [ 8] Leveque F., Plateau P., Dessen P., Blanquet S.
- Nucleic Acids Res. 18:305-312(1990).
-