The <i>yggH</i> Gene of <i>Escherichia coli</i> Encodes a tRNA (m ⁷ G46) Methyltransferase

Abstract

We cloned, expressed, and purified the Escherichia coli YggH protein and show that it catalyzes the S-adenosyl-L-methionine-dependent formation of N(7)-methylguanosine at position 46 (m(7)G46) in tRNA. Additionally, we generated an E. coli strain with a disrupted yggH gene and show that the mutant strain lacks tRNA (m(7)G46) methyltransferase activity.