Modification-deficient transfer ribonucleic acids from relaxed control Escherichia coli: structures of the major undermodified phenylalanine and leucine transfer RNAs produced during leucine starvation.

The structures of the major, chromatographically unique phenylalanine and leucine tRNAs produced during leucine starvation of a relaxed control (rel-) mutant of E. coli have been determined. The results demonstrate that the unique species are modification-deficient forms of the major, normally occurring isoacceptor species. The unique tRNAphe differs from the fully modified species at nucleotide positions 16, 37, 39, 47, and 55 from the 5' terminus. The unique species contains uridine (U) in place of dihydrouridine-16 (D16), isopentenyladenosine in place of 2-thiomethyl-N6-(delta2-isopentenyl)adenosine-37, a mixture of U and pseudouridine (psi) in position 39, a mixture of U and 3-(3-carboxypropyl)uridine at position 47, and a mixture of U and psi at position 55. The chromatographically normal isoacceptor from amino acid starved cells is deficient in D16 and psi55, indicating that that species is a mixture of mature and undermodified tRNAs. The unique tRNALeu isoacceptor consists of two subspecies which are undermodified forms of the major, normally occurring isoacceptor, tRNALeuI. Both unique subspecies lack the D and psi residues which occur at positions 16 and 39 from the 5' terminus; one subspecies also lacks D17. Compared with the tRNALeusI from wild-type strains of E. coli B and K12, both tRNALeuI from nonstarved cells and the unique, rel-tRNALeu are deficient in the modified guanosine which normally occurs adjacent to the anticodon and the pseudouridine in the GTpsiC sequence of the psi loop. Both the unique tRNAPhe and the unique tRNALeu lack dihydrouridine residues which occur in the 5' half of the D loop and pseudouridines which occur in the 3' half of the anticodon loop and adjoining stem. Taken together, these findings suggest that the same enzymes are responsible for the formation of these particular modified bases in both tRNAs. The results further suggest that several, perhaps most, of the tRNAs from cells cultured under conditions in which RNA and protein synthesis are uncoupled will be similarly deficient in dihydrouridine and pseudouridine and other minor nucleosides which occur less frequently. Because both modification-deficient rel-tRNAs have dihydrouridine at position 20 and pseudouridine in the psi loop (and at position 41 in the unique tRNALeu), the results support the view that there was multiple D-and psi-forming enzymes in E. coli, some of which may turn over rapidly or are selectively inactivated when protein synthesis is blocked. The results are discussed with a view toward understanding the structural basis for the altered biological activity of the unique tRNAPhe species and the order of events in the posttranscriptional modification of newly synthesized tRNA.