Abstract - 2qgnA

tRNA isopentenyltransferase (tRNA-IPT) is an enzyme crucial in maintaining the correct reading frame for translation. tRNA-IPT does so by modifying tRNA molecules, which bind to codons with uridine by adding N6-isopentenyladenosine (i6A) to the 37th residue of tRNA molecules. The structure of this protein has been recently determined in Bacillus halodurans and the human tRNA-IPT has been recently cloned. The latter is found to have a C2H2 zinc finger motif which is also found in other organisms except prokaryotes. structural and functional consequence of this motif will be discussed later.