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Tamura Lab
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A lab that explores the mystery of the origin of life through RNA and the genetic code.
AboutAbout the lab
From RNA and the genetic code to life
The Tamura Lab studies the mystery of how life began on Earth from the perspective of RNA and the genetic code.
The genetic code is the system that converts the base sequence of RNA into the amino acid sequence of proteins, and it is shared by all organisms on Earth today.
The lab investigates how this code came into being by studying reactions such as the binding of amino acids to tRNA.
Key terms
- Genetic code
- The algorithm that converts the base sequence of RNA into an amino acid sequence. It is shared by all organisms
- tRNA
- An "adaptor molecule" that links DNA sequences to amino acid sequences. Its existence was predicted by Crick
- RNA minihelix
- An RNA thought to be a primitive form of tRNA. It is used as a model system for studying aminoacylation reactions
ResearchResearch themes
To solve the mystery of the origin of life, the Tamura Lab studies how the genetic code came into being. It analyzes the aminoacylation reaction of tRNA, the first encounter between RNA and amino acids, and investigates its relationship to the origin of the genetic code.
*Illustrative imagetRNA aminoacylation and the genetic code
The lab analyzes the reaction in which aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases attach amino acids to tRNA, and investigates its relationship to the origin of the genetic code. It also uses a variety of methods to study the step in which amino acid-bound tRNA forms peptides on the ribosome.
*Illustrative imageReactions of RNA minihelices
Aminoacylation of RNA minihelices is considered a key step in the transition from the RNA world to the protein world. In a model system, the lab showed that this reaction and the peptide-forming reaction can occur even without enzymes or ribosomes.
*Illustrative imageThe mystery of amino acid handedness
Ordinary RNA minihelices (made of D-ribose) preferentially bind L-amino acids. The lab also found that when the ribose is changed to the L form, D-amino acids bind preferentially, and it regards this result as relevant to the mystery of asymmetry in the living world.
*Illustrative imageHow ribozymes are revived
While investigating how inactivated ribozymes are "revived," the lab discovered that introducing a kissing-loop restores activity. This shows that this interaction was important in the process of acquiring functions in the RNA world.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Tamura Lab are professors, assistant professors, graduate students, and undergraduates.
- ProfessorKoji Tamura
- Assistant ProfessorYusuke Saga
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “TRNA 1ehz coil lots” Dcrjsr / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- tRNA aminoacylation and the genetic code: “Scheme of transfer RNA (tRNA) charged with an amino acid” OpenStax (Rice University) / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Reactions of RNA minihelices: “Gel electrophoresis 2” Mnolf / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- The mystery of amino acid handedness: “Recrystallized Amino acid art” Aw1792300 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- How ribozymes are revived: “Varkud satellite ribozyme tertiary” Evolution and evolvability / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (西野研究室): “Annotated Tertiary Structure of Isoform X1” BUI00059 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (十島研究室): “Cell membrane 18 -- Smart-Servier” Laboratoires Servier / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (宮川研究室): “European Common Frog Rana temporaria” Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak Image:MFB.jpg / CC BY-SA 2.5 (cropped)
- Related lab (有村研究室): “Insect on a plant 2” BayoCine / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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