Mapping Post-Transcriptional Modifications onto Transfer Ribonucleic Acid Sequences by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Liquid chromatography, coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, has become one of the most popular methods for the analysis of post-transcriptionally modified transfer ribonucleic acids (tRNAs). Given that the information collected using this platform is entirely determined by the mass of the analyte, it has proven to be the gold standard for accurately assigning nucleobases to the sequence. For the past few decades many labs have worked to improve the analysis, contiguous to instrumentation manufacturers developing faster and more sensitive instruments. With biological discoveries relating to ribonucleic acid happening more frequently, mass spectrometry has been invaluable in helping to understand what is happening at the molecular level. Here we present a brief overview of the methods that have been developed and refined for the analysis of modified tRNAs by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.