tRNAs, amino acids, and tRNA aminoacyl synthetases are not only important to building protein structure, but also are incredibly important to stress response, recovery, and adaptation .
Our broad aim is to understand how tRNAs and aminoacyl tRNA synthetases relate to the switches that regulate genes important to protecting cells during stress and aging.
Our preliminary data suggests that arginyl tRNA synthetase (rrt-1, rars-1) is important to regulating hundreds of genes that are responsible for cell survival during stress.
We know that animals lacking proper arginyl tRNA synthetase function might, intriguingly, be more resilient to stress because of the function of this tRNA signaling pathway component as something that turns on genes that protect cells, even when cells are not stressed.
Our ongoing work is researching how other aminoacyl tRNA synthetases, tRNAs themselves, amino acids in supplement form or in the diet, may be important to helping our cells be more resilient during stress and aging. We are searching for answers to the question: Can we enhance this resiliency without sacrificing the critical aspects of amino acid signaling and function?