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Cited by 49RNA and protein synthesis mechanismsOrigins and Evolution of LifeGenomics and Phylogenetic Studies

Piecemeal Buildup of the Genetic Code, Ribosomes, and Genomes from Primordial tRNA Building Blocks

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Caetano-Anollés, Derek, Caetano-Anollés, Gustavo·2016·Life
DOI 10.3390/life6040043PMC PMC5198078
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Abstract

The origin of biomolecular machinery likely centered around an ancient and central molecule capable of interacting with emergent macromolecular complexity. tRNA is the oldest and most central nucleic acid molecule of the cell. Its co-evolutionary interactions with aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase protein enzymes define the specificities of the genetic code and those with the ribosome their accurate biosynthetic interpretation. Phylogenetic approaches that focus on molecular structure allow reconstruction of evolutionary timelines that describe the history of RNA and protein structural domains. Here we review phylogenomic analyses that reconstruct the early history of the synthetase enzymes and the ribosome, their interactions with RNA, and the inception of amino acid charging and codon specificities in tRNA that are responsible for the genetic code. We also trace the age of domains and tRNA onto ancient tRNA homologies that were recently identified in rRNA. Our findings reveal a timeline of recruitment of tRNA building blocks for the formation of a functional ribosome, which holds both the biocatalytic functions of protein biosynthesis and the ability to store genetic memory in primordial RNA genomic templates.

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Authors
Caetano-Anollés, D., & Caetano-Anollés, G.
Affiliations
  • Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology (DE)
  • Evolutionary Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
ORCID
Venue
Life
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2016-12-02
Volume
6
Issue
4
Pages
43
ISSN
2075-1729 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/life6040043
PMC
PMC5198078
OpenAlex
W2559051164
Cited by
49
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 1
FWCI
3.64
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Life (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (OISE-1132791)
  • USDA (ILLU-802-909)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
Keywords
origin of the genetic code, tRNA, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase, ribosome evolution, codon specificity, protein domains, phylogenomics

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