Mammals have nine different homologues (ALKBH1-9) of the Escherichia coli DNA repair demethylase AlkB. ALKBH2 is a genuine DNA repair enzyme, but the in vivo function of the other ALKBH proteins has remained elusive. It was recently shown that ALKBH8 contains an additional transfer RNA (tRNA) methyltransferase domain, which generates the wobble nucleoside 5-methoxycarbonylmethyluridine (mcm 5 U) from its precursor 5-carboxymethyluridine (cm 5 U). In this study, we report that (R)-and (S)-5-methoxycarbonylhydroxymethyluridine (mchm 5 U), hydroxylated forms of mcm 5 U, are present in mammalian tRNA UCG Arg , and tRNA UCC Gly , respectively, representing the first example of a diastereomeric pair of modified RNA nucleosides. Through in vitro and in vivo studies, we show that both diastereomers of mchm 5 U are generated from mcm 5 U, and that the AlkB domain of ALKBH8 specifically hydroxylates mcm 5 U into (S)-mchm 5 U in tRNA UCC Gly . These findings expand the function of the ALKBH oxygenases beyond nucleic acid repair and increase the current knowledge on mammalian wobble uridine modifications and their biogenesis.

Human tRNALys3UUU (htRNALys3UUU) decodes the lysine codons AAA and AAG during translation, and also plays a crucial role as the primer for HIV-1 reverse transcription. The post-transcriptional modifications 5-methoxycarbonylmethyl-2-thiouridine (mcm5s2U34), 2-methylthio-N6-threonylcarbamoyladenosine (ms2t6A37)and pseudouridine (ψ39) in the tRNA'santicodon loop are critical for ribosomal binding and HIV-1 reverse transcription. To understand the importance of modified nucleoside contributions, the structure and function of this tRNA's anticodon stem and loop domain were determined with these modifications at positions 34, 37 and 39, respectively (hASLLys3UUU-mcm5s2U37;ms2t6A37;ψ39). Ribosome binding assays in vitrorevealed that the hASLLys3UUU-mcm5s2U34;ms2t6A37;ψ39bound AAA and AAG codons, whereas binding of the unmodified ASLLys3UUU was barely detectable. The UV hyperchromicity, the circular dichroism and the structural analyses indicated that ψ39 enhanced the thermodynamic stability of the ASL through base stacking while ms2t6A37 restrained the anticodon to adopt an open loop conformation that is required for ribosomal binding. The NMR-restrained molecular dynamics derived solution structure revealed that the modifications provided an open, ordered loop for codon binding. The crystal structures of the hASLLys3UUU-mcm5s2U34;ms2t6A37;ψ39 bound to the 30S ribosomal subunit with each codon in the A site showed that the modified nucleotides mcm5s2U34 and ms2t6A37 participate in the stability of the anticodon/codon interaction. Importantly, the mcm5s2U34•G3 wobble base pair is in the Watson-Crick geometry, requiring unusual hydrogen bonding to G in which mcm5s2U34 must shift from the keto to enol form. The results unambiguously demonstrate that modifications pre-structurethe anticodonas a key prerequisite for efficient and accurate recognition of cognate and wobble codons.

Both, DNA and RNA nucleoside modifications contribute to the complex multi-level regulation of gene expression. Modified bases in tRNAs modulate protein translation rates in a highly dynamic manner. Synonymous codons, which differ by the third nucleoside in the triplet but code for the same amino acid, may be utilized at different rates according to codon–anticodon affinity. Nucleoside modifications in the tRNA anticodon loop can favor the interaction with selected codons by stabilizing specific base pairs. Similarly, weakening of base pairing can discriminate against binding to near-cognate codons. mRNAs enriched in favored codons are translated in higher rates constituting a fine-tuning mechanism for protein synthesis. This so-called codon bias establishes a basic protein level, but sometimes it is necessary to further adjust the production rate of a particular protein to actual requirements, brought by, e.g., stages in circadian rhythms, cell cycle progression or exposure to stress. Such an adjustment is realized by the dynamic change of tRNA modifications resulting in the preferential translation of mRNAs coding for example for stress proteins to facilitate cell survival. Furthermore, tRNAs contribute in an entirely different way to another, less specific stress response consisting in modification-dependent tRNA cleavage that contributes to the general down-regulation of protein synthesis. In this review, we summarize control functions of nucleoside modifications in gene regulation with a focus on recent findings on protein synthesis control by tRNA base modifications.

Modified nucleosides present in the wobble position of the tRNA anticodons regulate protein translation through tuning the reading of mRNA codons. Among 40 of such nucleosides, there are modified uridines containing either a sulfur atom at the C2 position and/or a substituent at the C5 position of the nucleobase ring. It is already evidenced that tRNAs with 2-thiouridines at the wobble position preferentially read NNA codons, while the reading mode of the NNG codons by R5U/R5S2U-containing anticodons is still elusive. For a series of 18 modified uridines and 2-thiouridines, we determined the pKa values and demonstrated that both modifying elements alter the electron density of the uracil ring and modulate the acidity of their N3H proton. In aqueous solutions at physiological pH the 2-thiouridines containing aminoalkyl C5-substituents are ionized in ca. 50%. The results, confirmed also by theoretical calculations, indicate that the preferential binding of the modified units bearing non-ionizable 5-substituents to guanosine in the NNG codons may obey the alternative C-G-like (Watson–Crick) mode, while binding of those bearing aminoalkyl C5-substituents (protonated under physiological conditions) and especially those with a sulfur atom at the C2 position, adopt a zwitterionic form and interact with guanosine via a ‘new wobble’ pattern.