The process in which the carbonyl of cytosine at position 34 of a tRNA is post-transcriptionally replaced by lysine.
Source:PMID:15894617
Comment
Exclusively located at the anticodon wobble position (i.e., position 34) of eubacterial and some organellar tRNAIle2. This modification converts the codon specificity from AUG to AUA, and it also converts the aminoacylation specificity of the tRNA from methionine to isoleucine. Requires ATP.