Biology of Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases, Volume 48 in The Enzymes series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on A narrative about our work on the endless frontier of editing, The puzzling evolution of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, Structural basis of the tRNA recognition by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, Catalytic strategies of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, Trans-editing by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase-like editing domains, Adaptive and maladaptive mistranslation arising from aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, Non-canonical inputs and outputs of tRNA aminoacylation, Structure and function of multi-tRNA synthetase complexes, Mitochondrial aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, Non-canonical functions of human cytoplasmic tyrosyl-, tryptophanyl- and other aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and much more. - Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors - Presents the latest release in The Enzymes series

This book will focus on new molecular interactions and novel activities and the associated diseases that have been recently discovered from the studies of eukaryotic and mammalian aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. In addition, the potential applications of ARS researches in biotechnology and medicine will be addressed.

By virtue of their role as catalysts of the aminoacylation reaction, the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases ensure that the first step of translation is performed quickly and accurately. In this volume of 36 separate chapters, the many facets of this ancient and ubiquitous family are reviewed, including their surprising structural diversity, enzymology, tRNA interaction properties, and curious alternative functions. These chapters illustrate the degree to which the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases employ a variety of mechanisms to carry out both the standard functions related to the synthesis of aminoacylated tRNA for protein synthesis, as well as the surprising functions associated with amino acid biosynthesis, cytokine function, and even the processivity of DNA replication. Other chapters explore the regulation of their synthesis, their role in disease, and their prospects as targets for antibacterial therapeutics. This monograph will be a valuable resource for all scientists interested in the fundamentals of protein synthesis from both a basic research and clinical perspective, as well as the relation of translational components to the evolution of the genetic code.

This highly illustrated book provides an up-to-date description of the structure and function of the translation system including ribosomes, tRNAs, translation factors, antibiotics and aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases.Research on translation is undergoing rapid changes and is receiving significant attention as evidenced by the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009. The structural research by crystallography and cryo-EM forms part of an interactive framework that involves biochemistry and molecular computation. The book provides a comprehensive overview of translation in light of the structural results. It is a valuable resource for scientists in this and related fields, as well as for students taking courses with a focus on translation.There is no other book in this field currently except the previous edition of this book. The authors have for a long time worked in the field of structure and function of the translation system.

Molecular Microbiology Laboratory is designed to teach molecular biology techniques to upper level undergraduates majoring in the life sciences. An extremely detailed lab preparation manual for teaching assistants accompanies the lab book and contains a general discussion of scientific writing and critical reading, as well as detailed instructions for preparation and peer review of lab reports. Each experimental unit is accompanied by a number of additional writing exercises based upon primary journal articles. The studies in these articles employ the techniques that the students are learning in the lab exercises, which reinforces their understanding of the material. These are techniques that students in any biological science will need to know, making this manual applicable to any life science curriculum.Key Features* Not a typical cookbook lab exercise, offers students the excitement and intellectual challenge of characterizing true unknowns. They could discover a new species! * Success rate greater than 85% for the entire experiment, even with very inexperienced students. * The ONLY manual that incorporates writing exercises into the curriculum. * Co-authored by Dr. Janine Trempy, one of four senior editors of the Journal of Microbiology Education, published by the American Society for Microbiology.

In this thesis, applications of aminoacylation ribozymes named flexizymes are described. Flexizymes have the following unique characteristics: (i) substrate RNA is recognized by two consecutive base pairs between the 3'-end of substrate RNA and the 3'-end of the flexizyme; (ii) these base pairs can be substituted with other base pairs; and (iii) various activated amino acids can be used as substrates including both canonical and noncanonical amino acids. This flexible aminoacylation of RNAs by flexizymes was used to label endogenous tRNAs to be removed, and in vitro selection using the tRNA-depleted library enabled the discovery of the novel interaction between the microRNA precursor and metabolites. Flexizymes are also used to prepare various aminoacyl-tRNAs bearing mutations at the 3'-end to engineer the translation machinery and to develop the orthogonal translation machinery. The first part of the research demonstrated that SELEX is appropriate for discovering the interaction between small RNA and ligands, and suggested that more RNA motif binding to small molecules exists in small RNAs. The second part opened a door to new opportunities for in vitro synthetic biology involving the engineering of the genetic codes and translation machineries. This research also indicated the great potential of aminoacylation by flexizymes to be applied in various fields of RNA research, which is beneficial for RNA researchers.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "The Origin and Evolution of the Genetic Code: 100th Anniversary Year of the Birth of Francis Crick" that was published in Life

Early Thoughts on RNA and the Origin of Life The full impact of the essential role of the nucleic acids in biological systems was forcefully demonstrated by the research community in the 1950s. Although Avery and his collaborators had identified DNA as the genetic material responsible for the transformation of bacteria in 1944, it was not until the early 1950s that the Hershey-Chase experiments provided a more direct demonstration of this role. Finally, the structural DNA double helix proposed by Watson and Crick in 1953 clearly created a structural frame work for the role of DNA as both information carrier and as a molecule that could undergo the necessary replication needed for daughter cells. Research continued by Kornberg and his colleagues in the mid-1950s emphasized the biochemistry and enzymology of DNA replication. At the same time, there was a growing interest in the role of RNA. The 1956 dis covery by David Davies and myself showed that polyadenylic acid and polyuridylic acid could form a double-helical RNA molecule but that it differed somewhat from DN A A large number of experiments were subsequendy carried out with synthetic polyribonucleotides which illustrated that RNA could form even more complicated helical structures in which the specificity of hydrogen bonding was the key element in determining the molecular conformation. Finally, in I960,1 could show that it was possible to make a hybrid helix.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Novel Biocomposite Engineering and Bio-Applications" that was published in Bioengineering