Conformational Change of the L-Shaped tRNAPheMolecule

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Abstract
Fluorophore of proflavine was introduced onto the 3′-terminal ribose moiety of yeast tRNAPhe. The distance between the fluorophore and the fluorescent Y base in the anticodon of yeast tRNAPhe was measured by a singlet-singlet energy transfer. Conformational changes of tRNAPhe with binding of tRNAGlu 2, which has the anticodon UUC complementary to the anticodon GAA of tRNAPhe, were investigated. The distance obtained at the ionic strength of 100 mM K+ and 10 mM Mg2+ is very close to the distance from x-ray diffraction, while the distance obtained in the presence of tRNAGlu 2 is significantly smaller. Further, using a fluorescent probe of 4-bromomethl-7-methoxycoumarin introduced onto pseudouridine residue Ψ55 in the TΨC loop of tRNAPhe, Stern-Volmer quenching experiments for the probe with or without added tRNAGlu 2were carried out. The results showed greater access of the probe to the quencher with added tRNAGlu 2. These results suggest that both arms of the L-shaped tRNA structure tend to bend inside with binding of tRNAGlu 2 and some structural collapse occurs at the corner of the L-shaped structure.