Cloning of opal suppressor tRNA genes of a filamentous fungus reveals two tRNASerUGA genes with unexpected structural differences.

The informational suppressors su4-1 and su8-1 of Podospora anserina were isolated by transformation of Schizosaccharomyces pombe UGA mutants. The DNA sequence revealed that they were opal (UGA) suppressor tRNAs. Wild-type alleles were also isolated by hybridization. The DNA sequence showed that they both encode species of tRNASerUGA. The gene SU8 has an 18-bp intervening sequence and its primary sequence is very different from that of SU4.