tRNA Biology

 

Work in our lab focuses on the biology of tRNA in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other eukaryotes.  In all organisms tRNAs are subject to extensive processing steps to forge appropriate 5' and 3' ends, to splice introns that may be present, and to add numerous post transcriptional modifications.  These processing steps impart tRNAs with the required properties to accurately and efficiently execute their critical roles in translation, and to survive multiple rounds of translation. Lack of these modifications frequently results in growth defects in S. cerevisiae and in neurological disorders or mitochondrial diseases in humans. Current research is focused on the precise roles of selected modifications in maintaining tRNA quality and tRNA function.