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. 2021 Jun;89(4-5):249-256.
doi: 10.1007/s00239-021-10002-8. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

Origin of the 16S Ribosomal Molecule from Ancestor tRNAs

Savio Torres de Farias  1   2 , Thais Gaudêncio Rêgo  3 , Marco V José  4
Affiliations

Origin of the 16S Ribosomal Molecule from Ancestor tRNAs

Savio Torres de Farias et al. J Mol Evol. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that concatemers of ancestral tRNAs gave rise to the 16S ribosomal RNA. We built an ancestral sequence of proto-tRNAs that showed a significant identity of 51.69% and a percentage of structural identity of 0.941 with the 3' upper domain of 16S ribosomal molecule. We also propose a hypothesis in which the small ribosomal subunit emerged by proto-tRNA fusion and worked as a point to bind RNAs in an open structure configuration. In this context, the two ribosomal subunits initially worked independently, and that the subunit junction, with consequent primitive ribosome formation, was mediated by interactions with tRNA molecules during the primordial genetic code formation.

Keywords: 16S rRNA; Evolution; Origins; Proto-tRNAs; Translation system.

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