The T-arm or T-loop is a specialized region on the tRNA molecule which acts as a special recognition site for the ribosome to form a tRNA-ribosome complex during protein biosynthesis or translation (biology).
The T-arm has two components to it; the T-stems and the T-loop.
- There are two T-stems of five base pairs each. T-stem 1 is from 49-53 and T-stem 2 is from 61-65.
- The T-loop is also often known as the TΨC arm due to the presence of ribothymidine (T/m5U), pseudouridine and cytidine residues. It folds into a unique structural element consisting of 5 stacked bases in a U-turn, now termed the "T-loop motif".[1]
- In archaea, the m5U is replaced with N1-methylpseudouridine (m1Ψ). The m5U/m1Ψ modification at position 54 is thought to increase structural stability.[2]
Organisms with T-loop lacking tRNA exhibit a much lower level of aminoacylation and EF-Tu-binding than in organisms which have the native tRNA.
The T-loop motif has been identified as a ubiquitous structural element in a number of noncoding RNAs.[1] At least one other instance of the T-loop, found in rRNA, also carries the m5U modifictaion.[3]