2ZNJ

Crystal structure of Pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase from Desulfitobacterium hafniense

Experimental Data Snapshot

  • Method: X-RAY DIFFRACTION
  • Resolution: 2.5 Å
  • R-Value Free: 0.275 
  • R-Value Work: 0.214 

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This is version 1.1 of the entry. See complete history. 

Literature

Pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase-tRNA(Pyl) structure reveals the molecular basis of orthogonality

Nozawa, K., O'Donoghue, P., Gundllapalli, S., Araiso, Y., Ishitani, R., Umehara, T., Soll, D., Nureki, O.

(2009) Nature 457: 1163-1167

  • DOI: 10.1038/nature07611
  • Primary Citation of Related Structures:  

  • PubMed Abstract: 

    • Pyrrolysine (Pyl), the 22nd natural amino acid, is genetically encoded by UAG and inserted into proteins by the unique suppressor tRNA(Pyl) (ref. 1). The Methanosarcinaceae produce Pyl and express Pyl-containing methyltransferases that allow growth o ...

    Pyrrolysine (Pyl), the 22nd natural amino acid, is genetically encoded by UAG and inserted into proteins by the unique suppressor tRNA(Pyl) (ref. 1). The Methanosarcinaceae produce Pyl and express Pyl-containing methyltransferases that allow growth on methylamines. Homologous methyltransferases and the Pyl biosynthetic and coding machinery are also found in two bacterial species. Pyl coding is maintained by pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase (PylRS), which catalyses the formation of Pyl-tRNA(Pyl) (refs 4, 5). Pyl is not a recent addition to the genetic code. PylRS was already present in the last universal common ancestor; it then persisted in organisms that utilize methylamines as energy sources. Recent protein engineering efforts added non-canonical amino acids to the genetic code. This technology relies on the directed evolution of an 'orthogonal' tRNA synthetase-tRNA pair in which an engineered aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS) specifically and exclusively acylates the orthogonal tRNA with a non-canonical amino acid. For Pyl the natural evolutionary process developed such a system some 3 billion years ago. When transformed into Escherichia coli, Methanosarcina barkeri PylRS and tRNA(Pyl) function as an orthogonal pair in vivo. Here we show that Desulfitobacterium hafniense PylRS-tRNA(Pyl) is an orthogonal pair in vitro and in vivo, and present the crystal structure of this orthogonal pair. The ancient emergence of PylRS-tRNA(Pyl) allowed the evolution of unique structural features in both the protein and the tRNA. These structural elements manifest an intricate, specialized aaRS-tRNA interaction surface that is highly distinct from those observed in any other known aaRS-tRNA complex; it is this general property that underlies the molecular basis of orthogonality.

    Organizational Affiliation: 

    Department of Biological Information, Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, B34 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa 226-8501, Japan.




Macromolecules

Find similar proteins by: Sequence  |  Structure

Entity ID: 1
MoleculeChainsSequence LengthOrganismDetails
Putative uncharacterized protein
A, B, C
308Desulfitobacterium hafnienseMutation(s): 0 
Gene Names: pylS
Find proteins for B0S4P3 (Desulfitobacterium hafniense)
Go to UniProtKB:  B0S4P3
Experimental Data & Validation

Experimental Data

  • Method: X-RAY DIFFRACTION
  • Resolution: 2.5 Å
  • R-Value Free: 0.275 
  • R-Value Work: 0.214 
  • Space Group: C 2 2 21
Unit Cell:
Length (Å)Angle (°)
a = 124.925α = 90.00
b = 128.555β = 90.00
c = 124.241γ = 90.00
Software Package:
Software NamePurpose
HKL-2000data reduction
HKL-2000data scaling
MOLREPphasing
CNSrefinement

Structure Validation

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Entry History 

Deposition Data

Revision History 

  • Version 1.0: 2008-12-30
    Type: Initial release
  • Version 1.1: 2011-07-13
    Type: Version format compliance