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Comment
. 2006 Oct 15;399(2):e7-9.
doi: 10.1042/BJ20061241.

Intricacies and surprises of nuclear-mitochondrial co-evolution

Dagmar K Willkomm, Roland K Hartmann
Comment

Intricacies and surprises of nuclear-mitochondrial co-evolution

Dagmar K Willkomm et al. Biochem J. .

Abstract

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.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Nematode EF-Tu1 and -Tu2, originating from a gene-duplication event, evolved novel and mutually exclusive substrate specificities and lost their affinity for canonical tRNAs
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References

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