Start of funding 01.07.2002

Functional implications of intramolecular dynamics of tRNA molecules in translation

Dr. Dagmar Klostermeier
University of Bayreuth
Spectroscopy of soft Matter

Dr. Ashok Deniz
The Scripps Research Institute California



During translation, tRNAs recognize various protein and RNA components, which requires them to be extremely flexible molecules. The aim of this project is to provide insight into the conformational flexibility of tRNAs in solution using time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy measurements on single donor-acceptor labelled tRNA molecules. From the trFRET experiments, insight into the role of intrinsic tRNA dynamics that allows for the complex sequence of events in the context of the translation machinery will be gained. These results will complement the wealth of biochemical data on relative movements of tRNAs with respect to the mRNA and structural information on the ribosome. By increasing the complexity of the model system, the project can be extended to gain insight into the fundamental role of tRNA flexibility during the various steps of translation.