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1.
The RNA world hypothesis regarding the early evolution of life relies on the premise that some RNA sequences can catalyze RNA replication. In support of this conjecture, we describe here an RNA molecule that catalyzes the type of polymerization needed for RNA replication. The ribozyme uses nucleoside triphosphates and the coding information of an RNA template to extend an RNA primer by the successive addition of up to 14 nucleotides-more than a complete turn of an RNA helix. Its polymerization activity is general in terms of the sequence and the length of the primer and template RNAs, provided that the 3' terminus of the primer pairs with the template. Its polymerization is also quite accurate: when primers extended by 11 nucleotides were cloned and sequenced, 1088 of 1100 sequenced nucleotides matched the template.  相似文献   

2.
Life originated, according to the RNA World hypothesis, from self-replicating ribozymes that catalyzed ligation of RNA fragments. We have solved the 2.6 angstrom crystal structure of a ligase ribozyme that catalyzes regiospecific formation of a 5' to 3' phosphodiester bond between the 5'-triphosphate and the 3'-hydroxyl termini of two RNA fragments. Invariant residues form tertiary contacts that stabilize a flexible stem of the ribozyme at the ligation site, where an essential magnesium ion coordinates three phosphates. The structure of the active site permits us to suggest how transition-state stabilization and a general base may catalyze the ligation reaction required for prebiotic RNA assembly.  相似文献   

3.
The hairpin ribozyme catalyzes sequence-specific cleavage of RNA through transesterification of the scissile phosphate. Vanadate has previously been used as a transition state mimic of protein enzymes that catalyze the same reaction. Comparison of the 2.2 angstrom resolution structure of a vanadate-hairpin ribozyme complex with structures of precursor and product complexes reveals a rigid active site that makes more hydrogen bonds to the transition state than to the precursor or product. Because of the paucity of RNA functional groups capable of general acid-base or electrostatic catalysis, transition state stabilization is likely to be an important catalytic strategy for ribozymes.  相似文献   

4.
The intervening sequence of the ribosomal RNA precursor of Tetrahymena is a catalytic RNA molecule, or ribozyme. Acting as a sequence-specific endoribonuclease, it cleaves single-stranded RNA substrates with concomitant addition of guanosine. The chemistry of the reaction has now been studied by introduction of a single phosphorothioate in the substrate RNA at the cleavage site. Kinetic studies show no significant effect of this substitution on kcat (rate constant) or Km (Michaelis constant), providing evidence that some step other than the chemical step is rate-limiting. Product analysis reveals that the reaction proceeds with inversion of configuration at phosphorus, consistent with an in-line, SN2 (P) mechanism. Thus, the ribozyme reaction is in the same mechanistic category as the individual displacement reactions catalyzed by protein nucleotidyltransferases, phosphotransferases, and nucleases.  相似文献   

5.
6.
An RNA processing activity that debranches RNA lariats   总被引:68,自引:0,他引:68  
The excised introns of pre-messenger RNA's (pre-mRNA's) and intron-containing splicing intermediates are in a lariat configuration in which the 5' end of the intron is covalently joined by a 2',5'-phosphodiester bond to a specific adenosine residue near the 3' end of the intron. A 2',5'-phosphodiesterase activity in HeLa cell extracts has been detected that debranches RNA lariats, converting them to linear RNA molecules by specific cleavage of the 2',5'-phosphodiester bond. This lariat debranching activity is distinct from previously reported 2',5'-phosphodiesterases with regard to its biochemical and substrate requirements as well as its stringent cleavage specificity. The debranching activity is observed only if the RNA lariats generated during in vitro processing are deproteinized and added back to the extract. These results suggest that during the normal in vitro splicing reaction the 2',5'-phosphodiester bond of RNA lariats is protected from cleavage by the lariat debranching activity.  相似文献   

7.
Defining the inside and outside of a catalytic RNA molecule   总被引:42,自引:0,他引:42  
Ribozymes are RNA molecules that catalyze biochemical reactions. Fe(II)-EDTA, a solvent-based reagent which cleaves both double- and single-stranded RNA, was used to investigate the structure of the Tetrahymena ribozyme. Regions of cleavage alternate with regions of substantial protection along the entire RNA molecule. In particular, most of the catalytic core shows greatly reduced cleavage. These data constitute experimental evidence that an RNA enzyme, like a protein enzyme, has an interior and an exterior. Determination of positions where the phosphodiester backbone of the RNA is on the inside or on the outside of the molecule provides major constraints for modeling the three-dimensional structure of the Tetrahymena ribozyme. This approach should be generally informative for structured RNA molecules.  相似文献   

8.
We describe a single RNA sequence that can assume either of two ribozyme folds and catalyze the two respective reactions. The two ribozyme folds share no evolutionary history and are completely different, with no base pairs (and probably no hydrogen bonds) in common. Minor variants of this sequence are highly active for one or the other reaction, and can be accessed from prototype ribozymes through a series of neutral mutations. Thus, in the course of evolution, new RNA folds could arise from preexisting folds, without the need to carry inactive intermediate sequences. This raises the possibility that biological RNAs having no structural or functional similarity might share a common ancestry. Furthermore, functional and structural divergence might, in some cases, precede rather than follow gene duplication.  相似文献   

9.
A critical event in the origin of life is thought to have been the emergence of an RNA molecule capable of replicating a primordial RNA "genome." Here we describe the evolution and engineering of an RNA polymerase ribozyme capable of synthesizing RNAs of up to 95 nucleotides in length. To overcome its sequence dependence, we recombined traits evolved separately in different ribozyme lineages. This yielded a more general polymerase ribozyme that was able to synthesize a wider spectrum of RNA sequences, as we demonstrate by the accurate synthesis of an enzymatically active RNA, a hammerhead endonuclease ribozyme. This recapitulates a central aspect of an RNA-based genetic system: the RNA-catalyzed synthesis of an active ribozyme from an RNA template.  相似文献   

10.
Lee G  Bratkowski MA  Ding F  Ke A  Ha T 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2012,336(6089):1726-1729
Rrp44 (Dis3) is a key catalytic subunit of the yeast exosome complex and can processively digest structured RNA one nucleotide at a time in the 3' to 5' direction. Its motor function is powered by the energy released from the hydrolytic nuclease reaction instead of adenosine triphosphate hydrolysis as in conventional helicases. Single-molecule fluorescence analysis revealed that instead of unwinding RNA in single base pair steps, Rrp44 accumulates the energy released by multiple single nucleotide step hydrolysis reactions until about four base pairs are unwound in a burst. Kinetic analyses showed that RNA unwinding, not cleavage or strand release, determines the overall RNA degradation rate and that the unwinding step size is determined by the nonlinear elasticity of the Rrp44/RNA complex, but not by duplex stability.  相似文献   

11.
    为了建立传染性法氏囊病病毒反向遗传系统,应用PCR法在鸡传染性法氏囊病病毒基因组A、B两节段的5'末端和3'末端分别引入T7启动子和核酶HDV序列,然后分别将含有T7启动子和核酶HDV序列的A、B节段构建到载体PT-Pluc当中,构建感染性载体PT-mA和PT-mB.在脂质体介导下将PT-mA和PT-mB共转染经痘病毒vTF7-3(含T7 RNA聚合酶基因,能稳定表达T7 RNA聚合酶)预先感染1 h的vero细胞.细胞病变观测、间接免疫荧光试验、电镜观察和分子标记检测证实成功实现了鸡传染性法氏囊病病毒的遗传拯救.  相似文献   

12.
One of the functions of U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) in the splicing reaction of pre-mRNA molecules is the recognition of the 5' splice site. U1 snRNP proteins as well as base-pair interactions between U1 snRNA and the 5' splice site are important for the formation of the snRNP-pre-mRNA complex. To determine which proteins are needed for complex formation, the ability of U1 snRNPs gradually depleted of the U1-specific proteins C, A, and 70k to bind to an RNA molecule containing a 5' splice site sequence was studied in a nitrocellulose filter binding assay. The most significant effect was always observed when protein C was removed, either alone or together with other U1-specific proteins; the binding was reduced by 50 to 60%. Complementation of protein C-deficient U1 snRNPs with purified C protein restored their 5' splice site binding activity. These data suggest that protein C may potentiate the base-pair interaction between U1 RNA and the 5' splice site.  相似文献   

13.
Specific interactions in RNA enzyme-substrate complexes   总被引:27,自引:0,他引:27  
Analysis of crosslinked complexes of M1 RNA, the catalytic RNA subunit of ribonuclease P from Escherichia coli, and transfer RNA precursor substrates has led to the identification of regions in the enzyme and in the substrate that are in close physical proximity to each other. The nucleotide in M1 RNA, residue C92, which participates in a crosslink with the substrate was deleted and the resulting mutant M1 RNA was shown to cleave substrates lacking the 3' terminal CCAUCA sequence at sites several nucleotides away from the normal site of cleavage. The presence or absence of the 3' terminal CCAUCA sequence in transfer RNA precursor substrates markedly affects the way in which these substrates interact with the catalytic RNA in the enzyme-substrate complex. The contacts between wild-type M1 RNA and its substrate are in a region that resembles part of the transfer RNA "E" (exit) site in 23S ribosomal RNA. These data demonstrate that in RNA's with very different cellular functions, there are domains with similar structural and functional properties and that there is a nucleotide in M1 RNA that affects the site of cleavage by the enzyme.  相似文献   

14.
凝胶电泳技术通常被用于总RNA完整性检测,一般认为28S和18S rRNA条带亮度的比值大于等于2表示总RNA完整性良好,该比值越小表明总RNA降解越严重。为了检测这一标准在水产虾蟹类中是否继续适用,分别对凡纳滨对虾rRNA和mRNA的完整性进行了分析。用TRIzol分离纯化的凡纳滨对虾总RNA经凝胶电泳检测,发现其28S:18S rRNA的比值远小于2;但是以同样的总RNA为模板进行RT-PCR,能顺利扩增出长约1 100 bp的ACTeEF1A基因序列。进一步的3':5'分析显示这2个内参基因mRNA的3':5' ratio分别为2.79和1.53,直接表明被测mRNA完整性良好。因此,凝胶电泳低估了水产虾蟹类总RNA的完整性,建议采用3':5'分析技术对水产虾蟹类总RNA完整性进行检测。  相似文献   

15.
A major pathway of eukaryotic messenger RNA (mRNA) turnover begins with deadenylation, followed by decapping and 5' to 3' exonucleolytic decay. We provide evidence that mRNA decapping and 5' to 3' degradation occur in discrete cytoplasmic foci in yeast, which we call processing bodies (P bodies). First, proteins that activate or catalyze decapping are concentrated in P bodies. Second, inhibiting mRNA turnover before decapping leads to loss of P bodies; however, inhibiting turnover at, or after, decapping, increases the abundance and size of P bodies. Finally, mRNA degradation intermediates are localized to P bodies. These results define the flux of mRNAs between polysomes and P bodies as a critical aspect of cytoplasmic mRNA metabolism and a possible site for regulation of mRNA degradation.  相似文献   

16.
17.
The chemistry of self-splicing RNA and RNA enzymes   总被引:59,自引:0,他引:59  
T R Cech 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》1987,236(4808):1532-1539
Proteins are not the only catalysts of cellular reactions; there is a growing list of RNA molecules that catalyze RNA cleavage and joining reactions. The chemical mechanisms of RNA-catalyzed reactions are discussed with emphasis on the self-splicing ribosomal RNA precursor of Tetrahymena and the enzymatic activities of its intervening sequence RNA. Wherever appropriate, catalysis by RNA is compared to catalysis by protein enzymes.  相似文献   

18.
Visualizing the higher order folding of a catalytic RNA molecule   总被引:26,自引:0,他引:26  
The higher order folding process of the catalytic RNA derived from the self-splicing intron of Tetrahymena thermophila was monitored with the use of Fe(II)-EDTA-induced free radical chemistry. The overall tertiary structure of the RNA molecule forms cooperatively with the uptake of at least three magnesium ions. Local folding transitions display different metal ion dependencies, suggesting that the RNA tertiary structure assembles through a specific folding intermediate before the catalytic core is formed. Enzymatic activity, assayed with an RNA substrate that is complementary to the catalytic RNA active site, coincides with the cooperative structural transition. The higher order RNA foldings produced by Mg(II), Ca(II), and Sr(II) are similar; however, only the Mg(II)-stabilized RNA is catalytically active. Thus, these results directly demonstrate that divalent metal ions participate in general folding of the ribozyme tertiary structure, and further indicate a more specific involvement of Mg(II) in catalysis.  相似文献   

19.
The intervening sequence RNA of Tetrahymena is an enzyme   总被引:40,自引:0,他引:40  
A shortened form of the self-splicing ribosomal RNA (rRNA) intervening sequence of Tetrahymena thermophila acts as an enzyme in vitro. The enzyme catalyzes the cleavage and rejoining of oligonucleotide substrates in a sequence-dependent manner with Km = 42 microM and kcat = 2 min-1. The reaction mechanism resembles that of rRNA precursor self-splicing. With pentacytidylic acid as the substrate, successive cleavage and rejoining reactions lead to the synthesis of polycytidylic acid. Thus, the RNA molecule can act as an RNA polymerase, differing from the protein enzyme in that it uses an internal rather than an external template. At pH 9, the same RNA enzyme has activity as a sequence-specific ribonuclease.  相似文献   

20.
Model substrates for an RNA enzyme   总被引:45,自引:0,他引:45  
M1 RNA, the catalytic RNA subunit of Escherichia coli ribonuclease P, can cleave novel transfer RNA (tRNA) precursors that lack specific domains of the normal tRNA sequence. The smallest tRNA precursor that was cleaved efficiently retained only the domain of the amino acid acceptor stem and the T stem and loop. The importance of the 3' terminal CCA nucleotide residues in the processing of both novel and normal tRNA precursors implies that the same enzymatic function of M1 RNA is involved.  相似文献   

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