Purification and nucleoside composition of a Q∗ — Containing aspartic acid tRNA from Drosophila

One form of aspartic acid tRNA from Drosophila,melanogaster (tRNA2δAsp) is selectively bound to columns of Con A-Sepharose. Unlike the other Q-containing tRNAs of Drosophila, it therefore appears that tRNAAsp contains the more highly modified nucleoside, Q∗ (mannose form) in its anticodon. This is further supported by the chromatographic insensitivity of tRNA2δAsp to NaIO4 treatment. Utilizing Con A-Sepharose chromatography, tRNA2δAsp from Drosophila was purified and its nucleoside composition determined by chemical tritium labelling. In addition to the major nucleosides, this tRNA contains rT, hU, m5C, ψ, and Q∗, but no other modified nucleosides. Its nucleoside composition is very similar to yeast tRNAAsp.