Transacylation rates of (aminoacyl)adenosine moiety at the 3'-terminus of aminoacyl transfer ribonucleic acid.

The rates of migration of the aminoacyl group (transacylation) between 2'-O-(aminoacyl)-tRNA and 3'-O-(aminoacyl)-tRNA were studied by the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses of 3'-terminal fragment models, with regard to the significance of transacylation in the process of protein biosynthesis. 2'(3')-O-L-Alanyladenosine, -valyladenosine, -isoleucyladenosine, -phenylalanyladenosine, and -methionyladenosine, and 2'(3')-O-L-phenylalanyladenosine 5'-phosphate and methionyladenosine 5'-phosphate were chemically synthesized, and the rates of transacylation in deuterated buffer were directly measured by the NMR saturation transfer method. The dependences of transacylation rates on p2H and temperature were analyzed. The results indicate that the transacylation rates are significantly affected by the ionization states of the alpha-amino group of the amino acid moiety but not by the presence of the 5'-phosphate group of the adenylate moiety. The second-order rate constants for the base-catalyzed transacylation reactions were also determined for the ionized form (with alpha-N2H3+ group) of (aminoacyl)adenosines. The transacylation rates of (aminoacyl)adenosines in 1H2O solution at p1H 7.3 and 37 degrees C (intracellular environment) were evaluated as 3-11 s-1 for the 2' leads to 3' transacylation and 1-4 s-1 for the 3' leads to 2' transacylation, indicating that the transacylation rate of free aminoacyl-tRNA is slower than the overall rate of polypeptide chain elongation per ribosome. This suggests the presence of some enzymatic factor for enhancing the transacylation rates of aminoacyl-tRNAs in the polypeptide chain elongation process in vivo.