Structural analyses on yeast tRNA (Tyr) and its complex with tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase by the use of hydroxyl radical 'footprinting'
Motoki, I.; Yosinari, S.; Watanabe, K.; Nishikawa, K.
Nucleic Acids Symposium Series 25: 173-174
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0261-3166 PMID: 1842072 Document Number: 369096
Hydroxyl radical, generated by reduction of hydrogen peroxide by Fe(II)-EDTA, was used to investigate the contact sites of yeast tRNA(Tyr) with its cognate tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (TyrRS). Exposure of free tRNA(Tyr) to this reagent gave cleavage patterns consistent with the tertiary structure of yeast tRNA(Phe) established by X-ray crystallography. When the probing reaction was performed under the conditions which stabilized complex formation between tRNA(Tyr) and TyrRS, aminoacyl-stem region of the tRNA was protected from cleavage. This result supports our earlier finding that the information for binding to TyrRS would reside mainly in the aminoacyl-stem of tRNA(Tyr).