The global organization of the tRNA structure is highly conserved in all forms of life. Prominent features of the tRNA structure, as shown in the figure, include: an acceptor stem with the CCA trinucleotide at the 3' end (the site of aminoacylation and trans-peptidation reactions in the protein-biosynthesis cycle); a D loop (named after a tandem dihydrouridine modification, labelled "D" in the figure, which is commonly found in this loop); an anticodon loop that includes the anticodon, which is a nucleotide triplet responsible for recognition of a coding triplet in mRNA, and the T loop, named after the highly conserved triplet. Filled circles represent nucleotides that are not usually modified; open circles represent commonly modified nucleotides other than D, T and psi.
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