Premium
RNA Catalysis: Ribozymes, Ribosomes and Riboswitches
Author(s) -
Strobel Scott
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.22.1_supplement.109.1
Subject(s) - ribozyme , ligase ribozyme , rna , riboswitch , ribosome , chemistry , catalysis , nucleobase , biochemistry , cofactor , deoxyribozyme , transfer rna , non coding rna , biology , enzyme , computational biology , dna , gene
The catalytic mechanisms employed by RNA are chemically more diverse than initially suspected. Divalent metal ions, nucleobases, ribosyl hydroxyl groups, and even functional groups on metabolic cofactors all contribute in the various strategies employed by RNA enzymes. This catalytic breadth raises intriguing evolutionary questions about how RNA lost its biological role in some cases, but not in others, and what catalytic roles RNA might still be playing in biology.