TitleWobbling forth and drifting back: The evolutionary history and impact of bacterial tRNA modifications.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2018
AuthorsDiwan GD, Agashe D
JournalMol Biol Evol
Date Published2018 May 28
ISSN1537-1719
Abstract

Along with tRNAs, enzymes that modify anticodon bases are a key aspect of translation across the tree of life. tRNA modifications extend wobble pairing, allowing specific ("target") tRNAs to recognize multiple codons and cover for other ("non-target") tRNAs, often improving translation efficiency and accuracy. However, the detailed evolutionary history and impact of tRNA modifying enzymes has not been analyzed. Using ancestral reconstruction of five tRNA modifications across 1093 bacteria, we show that most modifications were ancestral to eubacteria, but were repeatedly lost in many lineages. Most modification losses coincided with evolutionary shifts in non-target tRNAs, often driven by increased bias in genomic GC and associated codon use, or by genome reduction. In turn, the loss of tRNA modifications stabilized otherwise highly dynamic tRNA gene repertoires. Our work thus traces the complex history of bacterial tRNA modifications, providing the first clear evidence for their role in the evolution of bacterial translation.

DOI10.1093/molbev/msy110
Alternate JournalMol. Biol. Evol.
PubMed ID29846694