Abstract
Mg 2+- catalyzed specific splitting of tRNA In the presence of Mg 2+ ( Mg 2+ internucleotide phosphate ⩾ 0.5 ) tRNA Phe and tRNA Phe −Y are split under alkaline conditions almost specifically between the dihydrouridine residues at positions 16 and 17. tRNA fragments can be prepared by this reaction on a preparative scale. The fact that the chain scission occurs predominantly in the dihydrouridine region and only to a small extent in the also single-stranded anticodon region is explained by the differences in base stacking between the two regions. In the presence of low concentrations of Mg 2+ ( Mg 2+ P < 0.5 ) the fragmentation pattern of tRNA Phe is drastically altered. In 7 M urea only unspecific degradation is observed. Apparently, the specificity of the tRNA fragmentation depends on the actual tRNA conformation. A specific fragmentation in the presence of Mg 2+ is also observed in tRNA Ser.
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