Phenylalanyl tRNA Synthetase Alpha (FARSa)

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are a class of enzymes that charge tRNAs with their cognate amino acids. FARSa encodes a product which is similar to the catalytic subunit of prokaryotic and Saccharomyces cerevisiae phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetases (PheRS). This gene product has been shown to be expressed in a tumor-selective and cell cycle stage- and differentiation-dependent manner, the first member of the tRNA synthetase gene family shown to exhibit this type of regulated expression. Sequence analysis of the predicted 508-amino acid protein, called CML33, revealed that it has homology to the catalytic subunit of prokaryotic and S. cerevisiae phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetases (PheRS). Recombinant CML33 reacted with antibodies against sheep liver PheRS on Western blots.