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Structure and Function of a Leishmania Mitochondrial t RNA Import Factor

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Title Structure and Function of a Leishmania Mitochondrial t RNA Import Factor
 
Creator Basu, Sudarshana
 
Subject Molecular & Human Genetics
 
Description Leishmania, a dimorphic protozoan parasite of the order kinetoplastida is the causative agent for a large number of diseases ranging from self-healing skin ulcers to severe
pathologies associated with visceral leishmaniasis. The parasite exists as a flagellated mobile promastigote form in the sand-fly vector and as a sessile amastigote form in the mammalian host. The transformation from one form to the other occurs in the phagolysosomal compartment of host macrophages. One characteristic feature of these parasites is that, their mitochondrial genome does not have any tRNA encoding genes. Therefore, to carry out mitochondrial protein synthesis, the entire set of tRNAs have to be imported into the mitochondria from the cytosol. An in
vitro assay system had been previously developed in this laboratory using purified Leishmania mitochondria (311,313,328). This assay system demonstrated that
mitochondrial tRNA import in Leishmania is ATP dependent and driven by the proton motive force generated upon ATP hydrolysis. The protein complex responsible for this
mitochondrial tRNA import has already been isolated and purified in the laboratory (324). This complex is named as RNA Import Complex (RIC). There are specific import
signals within the imported tRNAs which interact with different subunits of the import complex, resulting in import. Based on these interactions two main groups of tRNAs are found: type I and type II. Type I has a high import efficiency in vitro, whereas type II’s import efficiency is less. However, type I is found to stimulate the mitochondrial import of type II tRNAs in vitro, thereby accounting for the balanced pool of both RNAs observed in vivo. Also, RIC1 was identified as the primary binding subunit of type I tRNAs, and RIC8A was identified as the primary binding subunit of type II tRNAs.
 
Date 2007
 
Type Thesis
NonPeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Identifier http://www.eprints.iicb.res.in/1577/1/SUDARSHANA_BASU_PDF_TH78.pdf
Basu, Sudarshana (2007) Structure and Function of a Leishmania Mitochondrial t RNA Import Factor. PhD thesis, Jadavpur University.
 
Relation http://www.eprints.iicb.res.in/1577/