---
_id: '849'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Understanding the principles that led to the current complexity of the genetic
code is a central question in evolution. Expansion of the genetic code required
the selection of new transfer RNAs (tRNAs) with specific recognition signals that
allowed them to be matured, modified, aminoacylated, and processed by the ribosome
without compromising the fidelity or efficiency of protein synthesis. We show
that saturation of recognition signals blocks the emergence of new tRNA identities
and that the rate of nucleotide substitutions in tRNAs is higher in species with
fewer tRNA genes. We propose that the growth of the genetic code stalled because
a limit was reached in the number of identity elements that can be effectively
used in the tRNA structure.
acknowledgement: |-
We thank D. Söll, H. Grosjean, and L. Filonava for comments and suggestions.
M.O. and P.D.D. thank the Barcelona Supercomputing Center for CPU/GPU time on MareNostrum/
MinoTauro. P.D.D. is a PEDECIBA (Programa de Desarrollo de las Ciencias Básicas) and an SNI
(Sistema Nacional de Investigadores) (ANII, Uruguay) researcher. Funding: This work was
supported in part by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (grants
BIO2012-32200, Sev-2012-0208, and BIO2012-32868 to L.R.d.P., F.A.K., and M.O., respectively)
and by the Catalan Government (grants 2014-SGR-0771, 2014-SGR-0974, and 2014-SGR-0134 to
L.R.d.P., F.A.K., and M.O., respectively). This work was also supported by the Howard Hughes
Medical Institute International Early Career Scientist Program (55007424), by a European Research
Council (ERC) Starting Grant (335980_EinME to F.K.), and by a grant from the ERC (ERC_SimDNA to
M.O). A.G.T. and C.B. are funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness
(FPDI-2013-17742 and BES-2013-064004, respectively).
author:
- first_name: Adélaïde
full_name: Saint-Léger, Adélaïde
last_name: Saint Léger
- first_name: Carla
full_name: Bello, Carla
last_name: Bello
- first_name: Pablo
full_name: Dans, Pablo D
last_name: Dans
- first_name: Adrian
full_name: Torres, Adrian G
last_name: Torres
- first_name: Eva
full_name: Novoa, Eva M
last_name: Novoa
- first_name: Noelia
full_name: Camacho, Noelia
last_name: Camacho
- first_name: Modesto
full_name: Orozco, Modesto
last_name: Orozco
- first_name: Fyodor
full_name: Fyodor Kondrashov
id: 44FDEF62-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Kondrashov
orcid: 0000-0001-8243-4694
- first_name: Lluís
full_name: Ribas De Pouplana, Lluís
last_name: Ribas De Pouplana
citation:
ama: Saint Léger A, Bello C, Dans P, et al. Saturation of recognition elements blocks
evolution of new tRNA identities. Science advances. 2016;2(4):e1501860-e1501860.
doi:10.1126/sciadv.1501860
apa: Saint Léger, A., Bello, C., Dans, P., Torres, A., Novoa, E., Camacho, N., …
Ribas De Pouplana, L. (2016). Saturation of recognition elements blocks evolution
of new tRNA identities. Science Advances. American Association for the
Advancement of Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501860
chicago: Saint Léger, Adélaïde, Carla Bello, Pablo Dans, Adrian Torres, Eva Novoa,
Noelia Camacho, Modesto Orozco, Fyodor Kondrashov, and Lluís Ribas De Pouplana.
“Saturation of Recognition Elements Blocks Evolution of New TRNA Identities.”
Science Advances. American Association for the Advancement of Science,
2016. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501860.
ieee: A. Saint Léger et al., “Saturation of recognition elements blocks evolution
of new tRNA identities,” Science advances, vol. 2, no. 4. American Association
for the Advancement of Science, pp. e1501860–e1501860, 2016.
ista: Saint Léger A, Bello C, Dans P, Torres A, Novoa E, Camacho N, Orozco M, Kondrashov
F, Ribas De Pouplana L. 2016. Saturation of recognition elements blocks evolution
of new tRNA identities. Science advances. 2(4), e1501860–e1501860.
mla: Saint Léger, Adélaïde, et al. “Saturation of Recognition Elements Blocks Evolution
of New TRNA Identities.” Science Advances, vol. 2, no. 4, American Association
for the Advancement of Science, 2016, pp. e1501860–e1501860, doi:10.1126/sciadv.1501860.
short: A. Saint Léger, C. Bello, P. Dans, A. Torres, E. Novoa, N. Camacho, M. Orozco,
F. Kondrashov, L. Ribas De Pouplana, Science Advances 2 (2016) e1501860–e1501860.
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:48:50Z
date_published: 2016-04-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2021-01-12T08:19:38Z
day: '01'
doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1501860
extern: 1
intvolume: ' 2'
issue: '4'
month: '04'
page: e1501860 - e1501860
publication: Science advances
publication_status: published
publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science
publist_id: '6798'
quality_controlled: 0
status: public
title: Saturation of recognition elements blocks evolution of new tRNA identities
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by_nc.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
short: CC BY-NC (4.0)
type: journal_article
volume: 2
year: '2016'
...