1. tRNA aminoacylation
a. What is aminoacylation? Where on the tRNA does it occur?
b. Why is ATP required for aminoacylation? Why is the hydrolysis of PPi generated during aminoacylation important?
c. What is the significance of the high-transfer potential of the ester bond created during tRNA aminoacylation?
d. Why is the specificity of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases important? How do these enzymes ensure their specificity?
e. Are you familiar enough with amino acid side chains to answer questions about aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase specificity? (e.g. how might similar amino acids like valine, serine and threonine be distinguished?)
f. Do you understand why there are differences in amino acid recognition between activation and editing sites? And how those differences dictate the specificity of the two different activities?
1. tRNA aminoacylation
a. What is aminoacylation? Where on the tRNA does it occur?
b. Why is ATP required for aminoacylation? Why is the hydrolysis of PPi generated during aminoacylation important?
c. What is the significance of the high-transfer potential of the ester bond created during tRNA aminoacylation?
d. Why is the specificity of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases important? How do these enzymes ensure their specificity?
e. Are you familiar enough with amino acid side chains to answer questions about aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase specificity? (e.g. how might similar amino acids like valine, serine and threonine be distinguished?)
f. Do you understand why there are differences in amino acid recognition between activation and editing sites? And how those differences dictate the specificity of the two different activities?
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