| Gene Symbol | CARS2 |
| Aliases | Mitochondrial Cysteinyl-tRNA Synthetase |
| Protein Type | Synthetase |
| Function | tRNA Recognition: CARS2 specifically recognizes mitochondrial tRNA^Cys, which contains the characteristic anticodon sequence 5'-GCA-3' (read as cysteine codon). |
| Molecular Weight | 80 kDa |
| Amino Acids | 708 aa |
| Ensembl ID | ENSG00000156206 |
| GeneCards | CARS2 |
| Human Protein Atlas | CARS2 |
| Activation | CARS2 first forms an aminoacyl-adenylate (aa-AMP) intermediate using ATP |
| Transfer | The activated amino acid is transferred to the 3'-terminal adenosine of tRNA^Cys, forming aminoacyl-tRNA |
| Catalytic domain | Core aminoacylation domain characteristic of class II synthetases |
| C-terminal domain | May contribute to tRNA binding and dimerization |
| Associated Diseases | neurodegeneration |
| Databases | GeneCardsUniProtNCBI GeneHPASTRING |