The return of pretransfer editing in protein synthesis

Abstract

The accuracy with which the genetic information contained in protein-coding genes is faithfully translated into the corresponding sequence of amino acids has long fascinated biologists. Before the mechanisms of transcription and protein synthesis had been uncovered in the exquisite molecular detail we know today, some of the inherent problems of faithful gene expression were obvious. Crick's seminal adaptor hypothesis (1) predicted the existence of many then-unknown components of translation, including the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. The aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases in effect define the genetic code by catalyzing a 2-step reaction that pairs amino acids with their cognate tRNAs to provide substrates for ribosomal protein synthesis. In the first step, an amino acid is condensed with ATP to form an aminoacyl-adenylate. In the second reaction, the aminoacyl group is transferred to the 3′ end of the tRNA. The aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases also provide a critical safeguard to maintain fidelity during translation of the genetic code by discriminating against and, when necessary, editing noncognate amino acids. Crick was quick to point out that specificity would be of paramount importance to the synthetases, because their function in protein synthesis would require them to precisely distinguish similar amino acids such as isoleucine and valine. Linus Pauling (2), who reasoned that small differences in binding energy between aliphatic amino acids would not provide the level of discrimination necessary for faithful protein synthesis, had also noted this particular problem in molecular recognition. This discrepancy, between the specificity achievable during recognition and the accuracy required for translation, was resolved with the discovery of editing.