A tRNA Glu gene from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus contains the 3′-terminal CCA sequence of the mature tRNA

Abstract

We cloned a gene encoding tRNA Glu of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus. This gene contains the CCA sequence corresponding to the 3′-terminus of the mature tRNA. It is known that, like in eukaryal tRNAs, the CCA-termini of archaeal tRNAs are generally not encoded. Therefore, we analyzed all tRNA genes in the genome of Methanococcus jannaschii estimated by its whole genome sequence. Twenty-one of 37 listed tRNA genes contained the 3′-terminal CCA sequence. The corresponding M. jannaschii tRNA Glu gene does not contain the CCA sequence, although the tRNA sequences of the M. jannaschii and P. furiosus tRNA Glu genes are 86% identical.