Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Nucleic Acids Research logoLink to Nucleic Acids Research
. 1981 Jan 24;9(2):401–414. doi: 10.1093/nar/9.2.401

Regulation of aromatic amino acid transport by tRNA: role of 2-methylthio-N6-(delta2-isopentenyl)-adenosine.

M Buck, E Griffiths
PMCID: PMC326701  PMID: 7010315

Abstract

E. coli growing rapidly in media where ferric iron is not freely available contain a population of specifically undermodified tRNAs. These tRNAs contain isopentenyl adenosine instead of the usual methylthioisopentenyl adenosine adjacent to the 3' end of the anticodon. Iron restricted E. coli also show an enhanced capacity to transport aromatic amino acids into the cell. Our work shows that undermodified tRNAs for phe, tyr and trp can function as positive regulatory elements of the aromatic amino acid transport system in E. coli. This iron related metabolic control, mediated through a specific post-transcriptional modification of the tRNAs, may be an important mechanism for adapting E. coli for growth in an iron restricted environment.

Full text

PDF
401

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Barnes W. M. DNA sequence from the histidine operon control region: seven histidine codons in a row. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1978 Sep;75(9):4281–4285. doi: 10.1073/pnas.75.9.4281. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Berger E. A., Heppel L. A. Different mechanisms of energy coupling for the shock-sensitive and shock-resistant amino acid permeases of Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem. 1974 Dec 25;249(24):7747–7755. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Buckingham R. H., Kurland C. G. Codon specificity of UGA suppressor tRNATrp from Escherichia coli. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5496–5498. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5496. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bullen J. J., Rogers H. J., Griffiths E. Role of iron in bacterial infection. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 1978;80:1–35. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-66956-9_1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Di Nocera P. P., Blasi F., Di Lauro R., Frunzio R., Bruni C. B. Nucleotide sequence of the attenuator region of the histidine operon of Escherichia coli K-12. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1978 Sep;75(9):4276–4280. doi: 10.1073/pnas.75.9.4276. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Eisenberg S. P., Yarus M., Soll L. The effect of an Escherichia coli regulatory mutation on transfer RNA structure. J Mol Biol. 1979 Nov 25;135(1):111–126. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(79)90343-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Griffiths E., Humphreys J. Alterations in tRNAs containing 2-methylthio-N6-(delta2-isopentenyl)-adenosine during growth of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in the presence of iron-binding proteins. Eur J Biochem. 1978 Jan 16;82(2):503–513. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1978.tb12044.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Griffiths E., Humphreys J., Leach A., Scanlon L. Alterations in the tRNA's of Escherichia coli recovered from lethally infected animals. Infect Immun. 1978 Nov;22(2):312–317. doi: 10.1128/iai.22.2.312-317.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kasai T. Regulation of the expression of the histidine operon in Salmonella typhimurium. Nature. 1974 Jun 7;249(457):523–527. doi: 10.1038/249523a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Oxender D. L., Anderson J. J., Mayo M. M., Quay S. C. Leucine binding protein and regulation of transport in E. coli. J Supramol Struct. 1977;6(3):419–431. doi: 10.1002/jss.400060315. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Piperno J. R., Oxender D. L. Amino acid transport systems in Escherichia coli K-12. J Biol Chem. 1968 Nov 25;243(22):5914–5920. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Quay S. C., Lawther R. P., Hatfield G. W., Oxender D. L. Branched-chain amino acid transport regulation in mutants blocked in tRNA maturation and transcriptional termination. J Bacteriol. 1978 May;134(2):683–686. doi: 10.1128/jb.134.2.683-686.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Quay S. C., Oxender D. L. Regulation of amino acid transport in Escherichia coli by transcription termination factor rho. J Bacteriol. 1977 Jun;130(3):1024–1029. doi: 10.1128/jb.130.3.1024-1029.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Rosenberg A. H., Gefter M. L. An iron-dependent modification of several transfer RNA species in Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1969 Dec 28;46(3):581–584. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(69)90197-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Wettstein F. O., Stent G. S. Physiologically induced changes in the property of phenylalanine tRNA in Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1968 Nov 28;38(1):25–40. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(68)90126-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Whipp M. J., Pittard A. J. Regulation of aromatic amino acid transport systems in Escherichia coli K-12. J Bacteriol. 1977 Nov;132(2):453–461. doi: 10.1128/jb.132.2.453-461.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Winkler M. E. Expression of the histidine operon in rho mutants of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1978 Aug;135(2):721–725. doi: 10.1128/jb.135.2.721-725.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Yanofsky C. Mutations affecting tRNATrp and its charging and their effect on regulation of transcription termination at the attenuator of the tryptophan operon. J Mol Biol. 1977 Jul 15;113(4):663–677. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(77)90229-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Yoo S. H., Pratt M. L., Shive W. Evidence for a direct role of tRNA in an amino acid transport system. J Biol Chem. 1979 Feb 25;254(4):1013–1015. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Yoo S. H., Shive W. Evidence for a role of specific isoacceptor species of tRNA in amino acid transport. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1979 May 28;88(2):552–558. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(79)92083-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Nucleic Acids Research are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES