2023
Rational design of the genetic code expansion toolkit for in vivo encoding of D-amino acids
Jiang H, Weng J, Wang Y, Tsou J, Chen P, Ko A, Söll D, Tsai M, Wang Y. Rational design of the genetic code expansion toolkit for in vivo encoding of D-amino acids. Frontiers In Genetics 2023, 14: 1277489. PMID: 37904728, PMCID: PMC10613524, DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1277489.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchUnique biophysical propertiesTree of lifeAmino acidsSuperfolder green fluorescent proteinGreen fluorescent proteinSubstrate polyspecificityTranslational machinerySynthetic biologistsSmall proteinsFluorescent proteinPhysiological roleRibosomal synthesisProteinBiophysical propertiesKinetic assaysHuman heavy chain ferritinHeavy-chain ferritinPylRSTRNAMutantsAminoacylationPeptidesBiologistsPhysiochemical propertiesMachineryMistranslation of the genetic code by a new family of bacterial transfer RNAs
Schuntermann D, Fischer J, Bile J, Gaier S, Shelley B, Awawdeh A, Jahn M, Hoffman K, Westhof E, Söll D, Clarke C, Vargas-Rodriguez O. Mistranslation of the genetic code by a new family of bacterial transfer RNAs. Journal Of Biological Chemistry 2023, 299: 104852. PMID: 37224963, PMCID: PMC10404621, DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.104852.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTransfer RNAsAmino acidsBacterial transfer RNAsUnfavorable environmental conditionsProlyl-tRNA synthetaseWrong amino acidPoor substrate specificitySubstrate discriminationGrowth defectTransfer RNAGenetic codePosttranslational modificationsProtein reporterTranslation factorsEnvironmental stressFunctional proteinsSubstrate specificityThreonine codonGenetic informationDistinct isoformsPro mutationAntibiotic carbenicillinEscherichia coliNovel familyEnvironmental conditionsDual incorporation of non-canonical amino acids enables production of post-translationally modified selenoproteins
Morosky P, Comyns C, Nunes L, Chung C, Hoffmann P, Söll D, Vargas-Rodriguez O, Krahn N. Dual incorporation of non-canonical amino acids enables production of post-translationally modified selenoproteins. Frontiers In Molecular Biosciences 2023, 10: 1096261. PMID: 36762212, PMCID: PMC9902344, DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1096261.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPost-translational modificationsGenetic code expansionAmino acidsProtein functionCode expansionNon-canonical amino acidsGenetic code expansion techniqueOrthogonal translation systemSkeletal muscle regenerationSelenoprotein functionCell maintenanceBiosynthesis mechanismGenetic systemSelenocysteine insertionPreferred hostMultiple proteinsBiological processesBiology applicationsProtein positionsStop codonCodon sequenceProtein sitesSelenoproteinsChemical biology applicationsMuscle regeneration
2022
Ancestral archaea expanded the genetic code with pyrrolysine
Guo LT, Amikura K, Jiang HK, Mukai T, Fu X, Wang YS, O’Donoghue P, Söll D, Tharp JM. Ancestral archaea expanded the genetic code with pyrrolysine. Journal Of Biological Chemistry 2022, 298: 102521. PMID: 36152750, PMCID: PMC9630628, DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102521.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAminoacylation efficiencyGenetic code expansionDomains of lifePyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetaseTRNA-binding domainFull-length enzymeNoncanonical amino acidsAmino acid substratesMolecular phylogenyDiverse archaeaCoevolutionary historyTRNA sequencesGenetic codeCode expansionDiscriminator basesMethanogenic archaeaMethanosarcina mazeiPylRSSubstrate spectrumTRNAArchaeaMultiple organismsLiving cellsAcid substratesAmino acidsUnconventional genetic code systems in archaea
Meng K, Chung CZ, Söll D, Krahn N. Unconventional genetic code systems in archaea. Frontiers In Microbiology 2022, 13: 1007832. PMID: 36160229, PMCID: PMC9499178, DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1007832.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsGenetic code systemAmino acidsTRNA-dependent pathwayCanonical amino acidsRare amino acidArchaeal lineagesArchaeal speciesSingle lineageArchaeaMolecular mechanismsThird domainExtreme environmentsRecent discoveryLineagesBiochemical elementsHarsh conditionsEukaryotesPyrrolysineSelenocysteineOrganismsSpeciesBacteriaPathwayAcidDiscoveryUncovering translation roadblocks during the development of a synthetic tRNA
Prabhakar A, Krahn N, Zhang J, Vargas-Rodriguez O, Krupkin M, Fu Z, Acosta-Reyes FJ, Ge X, Choi J, Crnković A, Ehrenberg M, Puglisi EV, Söll D, Puglisi J. Uncovering translation roadblocks during the development of a synthetic tRNA. Nucleic Acids Research 2022, 50: 10201-10211. PMID: 35882385, PMCID: PMC9561287, DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac576.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsOrthogonal translation systemGenetic code expansionCode expansionTertiary interactionsNon-canonical amino acidsAminoacyl-tRNA substratesDomains of lifeAminoacyl-tRNA synthetaseTranslation systemSingle nucleotide mutationsSingle-molecule fluorescenceDistinct tRNAsNon-canonical structuresSelenocysteine insertionRibosomal translationTRNARibosomesSynthetic tRNANucleotide mutationsAmino acidsSame organismP siteOrganismsTranslocationTranslationThe tRNA discriminator base defines the mutual orthogonality of two distinct pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNAPyl pairs in the same organism
Zhang H, Gong X, Zhao Q, Mukai T, Vargas-Rodriguez O, Zhang H, Zhang Y, Wassel P, Amikura K, Maupin-Furlow J, Ren Y, Xu X, Wolf YI, Makarova KS, Koonin EV, Shen Y, Söll D, Fu X. The tRNA discriminator base defines the mutual orthogonality of two distinct pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNAPyl pairs in the same organism. Nucleic Acids Research 2022, 50: gkac271-. PMID: 35466371, PMCID: PMC9071458, DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac271.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGenetic code expansionCode expansionDistinct non-canonical amino acidsOrthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNA pairsAminoacyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNA pairsPyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase/Halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcaniiAdditional coding capacityDistinct noncanonical amino acidsNon-canonical amino acidsArchaeon Haloferax volcaniiDiscriminator baseAmino acidsPyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetaseNoncanonical amino acidsSite-specific incorporationMotif 2 loopSingle base changeDistinct tRNAsTRNA pairsHaloferax volcaniiUAA codonGenetic codeDiscriminator basesTRNA structureMeasuring the tolerance of the genetic code to altered codon size
DeBenedictis EA, Söll D, Esvelt KM. Measuring the tolerance of the genetic code to altered codon size. ELife 2022, 11: e76941. PMID: 35293861, PMCID: PMC9094753, DOI: 10.7554/elife.76941.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsFour-base codonsGenetic codeTRNA mutationsAminoacyl-tRNA synthetasesQuadruplet codonsSingle amino acidCodon translationTriplet codonsTRNA synthetasesSynthetic biologistsCodonTRNAAmino acidsChemical alphabetsMutationsMass spectrometrySynthetasesAnticodonToleranceSynthetic systemsBiologistsTranslationEscherichiaNascent
2020
Front Cover: Hijacking Translation Initiation for Synthetic Biology (ChemBioChem 10/2020)
Tharp J, Krahn N, Varshney U, Söll D. Front Cover: Hijacking Translation Initiation for Synthetic Biology (ChemBioChem 10/2020). ChemBioChem 2020, 21: 1383-1383. DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202000239.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsInitiation of Protein Synthesis with Non‐Canonical Amino Acids In Vivo
Tharp J, Ad O, Amikura K, Ward F, Garcia E, Cate J, Schepartz A, Söll D. Initiation of Protein Synthesis with Non‐Canonical Amino Acids In Vivo. Angewandte Chemie 2020, 132: 3146-3150. DOI: 10.1002/ange.201914671.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchNon-canonical amino acidsDistinct non-canonical amino acidsE. coli translational machineryAmino acidsNon-canonical initiationTRNA fMetTranslational machineryInitiator tRNASynthetic biologyE. coli strainsProtein synthesisDiverse sidechainsColi strainsFMetRemarkable versatilityVivoInitial stepSecond positionGenomeTyrRSTRNARedundant copiesMachineryBiologyPolypeptide
2014
Exploring the Substrate Range of Wild‐Type Aminoacyl‐tRNA Synthetases
Fan C, Ho JM, Chirathivat N, Söll D, Wang Y. Exploring the Substrate Range of Wild‐Type Aminoacyl‐tRNA Synthetases. ChemBioChem 2014, 15: 1805-1809. PMID: 24890918, PMCID: PMC4133344, DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201402083.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAminoacyl-tRNA synthetasesSubstrate rangeDifferent amino acid sitesAmino acidsE. coli tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetaseE. coli aminoacyl-tRNA synthetasesAmino acid sitesCanonical amino acidsNonstandard amino acidsTyrosyl-tRNA synthetaseTryptophanyl-tRNA synthetaseAnticodon sequenceTRNA synthetasesSynthetasesSynthetaseSequenceAnticodonNSAAsTrpRSProteinAminoacylAcid
2012
The Mechanism of Pre-transfer Editing in Yeast Mitochondrial Threonyl-tRNA Synthetase*
Ling J, Peterson KM, Simonović I, Söll D, Simonović M. The Mechanism of Pre-transfer Editing in Yeast Mitochondrial Threonyl-tRNA Synthetase*. Journal Of Biological Chemistry 2012, 287: 28518-28525. PMID: 22773845, PMCID: PMC3436575, DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m112.372920.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPre-transfer editingThreonyl-tRNA synthetaseHydrolytic water moleculeFundamental biological processesNormal cellular functionAminoacyl-tRNA synthetasesPost-transfer editingPost-transfer editing activityTranslational fidelityAminoacylation siteCellular functionsAminoacylation active siteBiological processesMST1Conformational changesEditing activitySeryl adenylateAmino acidsSpecialized domainsEditingSerineSites 100SynthetaseActive siteAdenylateYeast mitochondrial threonyl-tRNA synthetase recognizes tRNA isoacceptors by distinct mechanisms and promotes CUN codon reassignment
Ling J, Peterson KM, Simonović I, Cho C, Söll D, Simonović M. Yeast mitochondrial threonyl-tRNA synthetase recognizes tRNA isoacceptors by distinct mechanisms and promotes CUN codon reassignment. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2012, 109: 3281-3286. PMID: 22343532, PMCID: PMC3295322, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1200109109.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsAeropyrumAmino Acid SequenceAnticodonCatalytic DomainCodonCrystallography, X-RayEscherichia coliEvolution, MolecularLeucineMitochondriaModels, MolecularMolecular Sequence DataProtein ConformationProtein Structure, TertiaryRNA EditingRNA, Transfer, Amino AcylSaccharomyces cerevisiaeSaccharomyces cerevisiae ProteinsSequence AlignmentSpecies SpecificityStaphylococcus aureusSubstrate SpecificityThreonineThreonine-tRNA LigaseConceptsThreonyl-tRNA synthetaseAnticodon loopAnticodon sequenceEscherichia coli ThrRSSet of tRNAsDistinct recognition mechanismsAnticodon-binding domainAminoacyl-tRNA synthetasesCUN codonsDetailed structural comparisonCodon reassignmentYeast mitochondriaGenetic codeTRNA isoacceptorsSaccharomyces cerevisiaeIsoacceptor tRNAsEditing domainTRNAMST1Anticodon tripletStructural comparisonNatural tRNAAmino acidsDistinct mechanismsRecognition mechanism
2011
Rational design of an evolutionary precursor of glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase
O’Donoghue P, Sheppard K, Nureki O, Söll D. Rational design of an evolutionary precursor of glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2011, 108: 20485-20490. PMID: 22158897, PMCID: PMC3251134, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1117294108.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsAmino Acid SequenceAmino Acyl-tRNA SynthetasesBase SequenceCodonEscherichia coliEvolution, MolecularGenetic EngineeringKineticsMethanobacteriaceaeModels, MolecularMolecular ConformationMolecular Sequence DataNucleic Acid ConformationPhylogenyProtein Structure, SecondarySequence Homology, Amino AcidConceptsGlutaminyl-tRNA synthetaseAminoacyl-tRNA synthetasesGenetic code engineeringAmino acidsDomains of lifeMost aminoacyl-tRNA synthetasesGlutamyl-tRNA synthetaseCanonical amino acidsBacterial GlnRSTRNA specificityTRNA pairsParticular codonsEvolutionary precursorBiochemical characterizationStem loopGlnRAdditional codonsCAA codonCodonProtein synthesisCAG codonEscherichia coliSpecific enzymesCatalytic preferenceSynthetase
2010
Mutations Disrupting Selenocysteine Formation Cause Progressive Cerebello-Cerebral Atrophy
Agamy O, Zeev B, Lev D, Marcus B, Fine D, Su D, Narkis G, Ofir R, Hoffmann C, Leshinsky-Silver E, Flusser H, Sivan S, Söll D, Lerman-Sagie T, Birk OS. Mutations Disrupting Selenocysteine Formation Cause Progressive Cerebello-Cerebral Atrophy. American Journal Of Human Genetics 2010, 87: 538-544. PMID: 20920667, PMCID: PMC2948803, DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2010.09.007.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchStructure of an archaeal non-discriminating glutamyl-tRNA synthetase: a missing link in the evolution of Gln-tRNAGln formation
Nureki O, O’Donoghue P, Watanabe N, Ohmori A, Oshikane H, Araiso Y, Sheppard K, Söll D, Ishitani R. Structure of an archaeal non-discriminating glutamyl-tRNA synthetase: a missing link in the evolution of Gln-tRNAGln formation. Nucleic Acids Research 2010, 38: 7286-7297. PMID: 20601684, PMCID: PMC2978374, DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkq605.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsNon-discriminating glutamyl-tRNA synthetaseGlutamyl-tRNA synthetaseND-GluRSEscherichia coli GlnRSFormation of GlnCognate tRNA moleculesGlutaminyl-tRNA synthetaseAnticodon-binding domainEvolutionary predecessorPhylogenetic analysisGenetic codeMolecular basisTRNA moleculesRecognition pocketGlnRGenetic encodingAmino acidsSpecific ligationStructural determinantsKey eventsSynthetaseGluPromiscuous recognitionGluRGln
2009
The Human SepSecS-tRNASec Complex Reveals the Mechanism of Selenocysteine Formation
Palioura S, Sherrer RL, Steitz TA, Söll D, Simonović M. The Human SepSecS-tRNASec Complex Reveals the Mechanism of Selenocysteine Formation. Science 2009, 325: 321-325. PMID: 19608919, PMCID: PMC2857584, DOI: 10.1126/science.1173755.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsAmino Acyl-tRNA SynthetasesBase SequenceBiocatalysisCatalytic DomainCrystallography, X-RayHumansHydrogen BondingModels, MolecularMolecular Sequence DataNucleic Acid ConformationPhosphatesPhosphoserineProtein ConformationProtein MultimerizationProtein Structure, SecondaryRNA, Transfer, Amino Acid-SpecificRNA, Transfer, Amino AcylSelenocysteineConceptsTransfer RNASelenocysteine formationSelenocysteinyl-tRNA synthaseCognate transfer RNAEnzyme active siteTRNA bindingActive siteConformational changesEnzyme assaysAmino acidsFree phosphoserinePhosphoserineSepSecSFinal stepSelenocysteineBiosynthesisComplexesRNAMechanismBindsCrystal structureSynthaseBindingFormationAssays
2008
Pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase–tRNAPyl structure reveals the molecular basis of orthogonality
Nozawa K, O’Donoghue P, Gundllapalli S, Araiso Y, Ishitani R, Umehara T, Söll D, Nureki O. Pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase–tRNAPyl structure reveals the molecular basis of orthogonality. Nature 2008, 457: 1163-1167. PMID: 19118381, PMCID: PMC2648862, DOI: 10.1038/nature07611.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAmino acidsMolecular basisLast universal common ancestorUniversal common ancestorUAG stop codonProteinogenic amino acidsCommon ancestorSuppressor tRNAStop codonDesulfitobacterium hafnienseStandard amino acidsTRNADistinct interactionsProteinPyrrolysinePylRSSelenocysteineAncestorCodonMachineryAcidVivoPairsQuality control despite mistranslation caused by an ambiguous genetic code
Ruan B, Palioura S, Sabina J, Marvin-Guy L, Kochhar S, LaRossa RA, Söll D. Quality control despite mistranslation caused by an ambiguous genetic code. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2008, 105: 16502-16507. PMID: 18946032, PMCID: PMC2575449, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0809179105.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGenetic codeAa-tRNAWild-type proteinAminoacyl-tRNA synthetasesInactive mutant proteinsHeat shock responseE. coliMutant proteinsReporter proteinMissense suppressionFunctional proteinsCognate tRNASelective pressureAminoacyl-tRNAActive enzymeShock responseProtein synthesisNative conformationEnergetic costAmino acidsMissense mutationsProteinBiochemical evidenceCorrect pairingProtein quality
2007
Features of Aminoacyl‐tRNA Synthesis Unique to Archaea
Polycarpo C, Sheppard K, Randau L, Ambrogelly A, Cardoso A, Fukai S, Herring S, Hohn M, Nakamura Y, Oshikane H, Palioura S, Salazar J, Yuan J, Nureki O, Söll D. Features of Aminoacyl‐tRNA Synthesis Unique to Archaea. 2007, 198-208. DOI: 10.1128/9781555815516.ch9.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAminoacyl-tRNA synthetasesAmino acidsCognate tRNA speciesCorrect amino acidDomains of lifeAminoacyl-tRNA synthetaseIntron-exon junctionsCorresponding tRNAsNanoarchaeum equitansMethylated thiolsM. jannaschiiMature tRNATRNA speciesGenomic studiesAncient familyBulge motifCysteine synthesisMethanogenic archaeaArchaeaBiosynthetic routeAa-tRNATRNATwo-step pathwayCys-tRNACysSynthetases