Amino acid activation

Amino acid activation (also known as aminoacylation or tRNA charging) refers to the attachment of an amino acid to its Transfer RNA (tRNA). Amino acid activation (also known as aminoacylation or tRNA charging) refers to the attachment of an amino acid to its Transfer RNA (tRNA). During amino acid activation the amino acids (aa) are attached to their corresponding tRNA. The coupling reactions are catalysed by a group of enzymes called aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (named after the reaction product aminoacyl-tRNA or aa-tRNA). The coupling reaction proceeds in two steps: