Tag: #tRNA
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An Ancient Alarm: Bacterial Schlafen Proteins Reveal a Deep Evolutionary Root for Antiviral Immunity
In mammalian cells, the Schlafen family of enzymes is known for an unusually drastic antiviral defense: when a virus invades, certain Schlafen nucleases shut down protein synthesis by shredding the cell’s own transfer RNAs (tRNAs), starving the pathogen of the machinery it needs to replicate. Whether bacteria, which pioneered CRISPR-based immunity long before animals existed,…
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Transfer RNA is among the most chemically decorated molecules in the cell — an average human tRNA carries more than a dozen distinct post-transcriptional modifications, each one placed with exquisite precision to fine-tune its performance on the ribosome. Among these, the family of 5-carboxymethyluridine (cm⁵U) modifications at the wobble position of the anticodon holds particular…