An Enzymatic Mechanism for Linking Amino Acids to RNA

Abstract
An enzymatic system for linking amino acids to RNA is described. The incorporation of a single amino acid requires the corresponding amino acid-activating enzyme, a specific RNA fraction, ATP and Mg++. The amino acid-activating enzyme appears to catalyze both the formation of the adenyl amino acid and the transfer of the amino acid moiety to RNA. Experiments with several amino acids indicate that there are specific binding sites for these amino acids associated with the RNA.