Use of semi-synthetic transfer RNAs to probe molecular recognition by Escherichia coli proline-tRNA synthetase Original Research Article

Background: The attachment of specific amino acids to the 3′-end of cognate transfer RNAs (tRNAs) is catalyzed by a class of enzymes known as aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS).We have previously demonstrated that Escherichia coli proline-tRNA synthetase (ProRS) can aminoacylate semi-synthetic RRNAs prepared by annealing two RNA oligonucleotides. We set out to examine the factors that are important in selective recognition of tRNAPro by ProRS, using semi-synthetic RRNAs and full-length tRNA transcripts.