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RNA Folding and Catalysis

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Structural Biology and Functional Genomics

Part of the book series: NATO Science Series ((ASHT,volume 71))

Abstract

Catalysis in RNA is intimately connected to the folding. The small nucleolytic ribozymes function by a nucleophilic attack of the 2’-oxygen on the 3’-phosphate, in an SN2 mechanism. This requires an alignment of the 2’-O, 3’-P and 5’-O, that does not occur in normal A-form RNA. It is therefore likely that structural distortion plays a major role in the enhancement of the reaction rate, facilitating the trajectory into the in-line transition state. Given the polyelectrolyte nature of nucleic acids, metal ions are critical to folding processes in RNA. We have shown that two small nucleolytic ribozymes, the hammerhead and hairpin ribozymes, undergo metal ion-induced folding processes. The hammerhead ribozyme folds in two stages, each of which is induced by the binding of a single structural ion. The first corresponds to the formation of the ribozyme scaffold, while the second is the formation of the catalytic core of the ribozyme. By contrast, the hairpin ribozyme undergoes a single folding event induced by the binding of at least two metal ions, and involves the close interaction between two internal loops to form the active ribozyme

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CRC Nucleic Acid Structure Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 4HN, UK

    David M. J. Lilley

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  1. David M. J. Lilley
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Life Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA

    E. Morton Bradbury

  2. Agricultural Biotechnology Centre, Gödöllõ, Hungary

    Sándor Pongor

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Lilley, D.M.J. (1999). RNA Folding and Catalysis. In: Bradbury, E.M., Pongor, S. (eds) Structural Biology and Functional Genomics. NATO Science Series, vol 71. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4631-9_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4631-9_10

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  • Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-5782-7

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