Replication slippage may cause parallel evolution in the secondary structures of mitochondrial transfer RNAs

J. Robert Macey, Allan Larson, Natalia B. Ananjeva, Theodore J. Papenfuss

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

79 Scopus citations

Abstract

Presence of the dihydrouridine (D) stem in the mitochondrial cysteine tRNA is unusually variable among lepidosaurian reptiles. Phylogenetic and comparative analyses of cysteine tRNA gene sequences identify eight parallel losses of the D-stem, resulting in D-arm replacement loops. Sampling within the monophyletic Acrodonta provides no evidence for reversal. Slipped-strand mispairing of noncontiguous repeated sequences during replication or direct replication slippage can explain repeats observed within cysteine tRNAs that contain a D-arm replacement loop. These two mechanisms involving replication slippage can account for the loss of the cysteine tRNA D-stem in several lepidosaurian lineages, and may represent general mechanisms by which the secondary structures of mitochondrial tRNAs are altered.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)30-39
Number of pages10
JournalMolecular biology and evolution
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1997

Keywords

  • cysteine transfer RNA
  • mitochondrial DNA
  • phylogenetic
  • reptile

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