Compositions and methods for the identification of inhibitors of protein synthesis

A method of identifying an inhibitor of tRNA-target molecule interaction, comprising:

• forming a mixture comprising a first nucleic acid molecule comprising a tRNA D-loop fragment, a target molecule capable of binding to the tRNA D-loop fragment, and a test compound, wherein the tRNA D-loop fragment contains at least one modified nucleotide;
• incubating the mixture under conditions that allow binding of the tRNA D-loop fragment and the target molecule in the absence of the test compound;
• and detecting whether or not the test compound inhibits the binding of the tRNA D-loop fragment and the target molecule, wherein the absence of binding of the tRNA fragment and the target molecule is indicative of the test compound being an inhibitor of tRNA-target molecule interaction.

A method of diagnosing whether a subject has a bacterial infection, comprising:

• forming a mixture comprising a first nucleic acid molecule derived from a fragment of a tRNA molecule comprising at least one modified nucleotide and a biological sample from a subject, wherein the fragment tRNA molecule corresponds to a T.PSI.C-loop, a D-loop, or an anticodon stem loop structure;
• incubating the mixture under conditions that allow binding of the first nucleic acid molecule and a target molecule indicative of the presence of a bacteria in the absence of the test compound;
• and detecting whether the first nucleic acid molecule binds to the target molecule, wherein the binding of the first nucleic acid molecule and the target molecule is indicative of the positive diagnosis of a bacterial infection in the biological sample.

A method of identifying a target molecule that binds to a RNA molecule, comprising:

• forming a mixture comprising a biological sample and at least one nucleic acid molecule derived from or corresponding to a tRNA loop having at least one modified nucleotide, wherein the tRNA loop is selected from the group consisting of a T.PSI.C-loop, a D-loop, and an anticodon loop, incubating the mixture under conditions that allow binding of a target molecule in the biological sample to the first nucleic acid molecule, detecting whether a target molecule binds to the first nucleic acid molecule.