As the molecular adapters between codons and amino acids, transfer-RNAs are pivotal molecules of the genetic code. The decoding properties of a tRNA molecule require the addition of modifications.  Even if these modifications were discovered in the seventies, many of the corresponding enzymes remained uncharacterized until recently. In the last 10 years a combination of experimental and in silico approaches has led to the discovery of many these �missing� enzymes. We have focused on elucidating the synthesis pathways of very complex modifications that require more than two enzymatic steps. These include the universally conserved   threonylcarbamoyl adenosine (t6A), the deazaguanosine derivatives Queuosine (Q) and Archaeosine (G+) and the exotic wyeosine derivatives.  Elucidating these pathways unearthed not only novel enzyme families and chemistries but also showed that several metabolic solutions have evolved to maintain these complex and costly pathways in the different kingdoms of life.

Mining genomes for missing tRNA modification genes

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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