This article is about the chemical. For the rock band, see Ribozyme (band).
3D structure of a hammerhead ribozyme
Ribozymes (ribonucleic acid enzymes) are RNA molecules that have the ability to catalyze specific biochemical reactions, including RNA splicing in gene expression, similar to the action of protein enzymes. The 1982 discovery of ribozymes demonstrated that RNA can be both genetic material (like DNA) and a biological catalyst (like protein enzymes), and contributed to the RNA world hypothesis, which suggests that RNA may have been important in the evolution of prebiotic self-replicating systems.[1]
The most common activities of natural or in vitro evolved ribozymes are the cleavage (or ligation) of RNA and DNA and peptide bond formation.[2] For example, the smallest ribozyme known (GUGGC-3') can aminoacylate a GCCU-3' sequence in the presence of PheAMP.[3] Within the ribosome, ribozymes function as part of the large subunit ribosomal RNA to link amino acids during protein synthesis. They also participate in a variety of RNA processing reactions, including RNA splicing, viral replication, and transfer RNA biosynthesis. Examples of ribozymes include the hammerhead ribozyme, the VS ribozyme, leadzyme, and the hairpin ribozyme.
Researchers who are investigating the origins of life through the RNA world hypothesis have been working on discovering a ribozyme with the capacity to self-replicate, which would require it to have the ability to catalytically synthesize polymers of RNA. This should be able to happen in prebiotically plausible conditions with high rates of copying accuracy to prevent degradation of information but also allowing for the occurrence of occasional errors during the copying process to allow for Darwinian evolution to proceed.[4]
Attempts have been made to develop ribozymes as therapeutic agents, as enzymes which target defined RNA sequences for cleavage, as biosensors, and for applications in functional genomics and gene discovery.[5]
^Cite error: The named reference pmid6297745 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Fedor MJ, Williamson JR (May 2005). "The catalytic diversity of RNAs". Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology. 6 (5): 399–412. doi:10.1038/nrm1647. PMID 15956979. S2CID 33304782.
^Yarus M (October 2011). "The meaning of a minuscule ribozyme". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 366 (1580): 2902–2909. doi:10.1098/rstb.2011.0139. PMC 3158920. PMID 21930581.
^Martin LL, Unrau PJ, Müller UF (January 2015). "RNA synthesis by in vitro selected ribozymes for recreating an RNA world". Life. 5 (1). Basel, Switzerland: 247–68. Bibcode:2015Life....5..247M. doi:10.3390/life5010247. PMC 4390851. PMID 25610978.
^Hean J, Weinberg MS (2008). "The Hammerhead Ribozyme Revisited: New Biological Insights for the Development of Therapeutic Agents and for Reverse Genomics Applications". In Morris KL (ed.). RNA and the Regulation of Gene Expression: A Hidden Layer of Complexity. Norfolk, England: Caister Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-904455-25-7.
Ribozymes (ribonucleic acid enzymes) are RNA molecules that have the ability to catalyze specific biochemical reactions, including RNA splicing in gene...
The hammerhead ribozyme is an RNA motif that catalyzes reversible cleavage and ligation reactions at a specific site within an RNA molecule. It is one...
ribozyme is an RNA structure that catalyzes its own cleavage at a specific site. In other words, it is a self-cleaving ribozyme. The pistol ribozyme was...
Varkud satellite (VS) ribozyme is an RNA enzyme that carries out the cleavage of a phosphodiester bond. Varkud satellite (VS) ribozyme is the largest known...
The hairpin ribozyme is a small section of RNA that can act as a ribozyme. Like the hammerhead ribozyme it is found in RNA satellites of plant viruses...
or ribozymes. While in the Szostak lab, Doudna re-engineered the self-splicing Tetrahymena Group I catalytic intron into a true catalytic ribozyme that...
The twister ribozyme is a catalytic RNA structure capable of self-cleavage. The nucleolytic activity of this ribozyme has been demonstrated both in vivo...
The RNA Ligase ribozyme was the first of several types of synthetic ribozymes produced by in vitro evolution and selection techniques. They are an important...
Examples of such ribozymes include the hammerhead ribozyme, the Hepatitis Delta Virus (HDV) ribozyme, and the hairpin ribozyme. Large ribozymes, such as Group...
The hepatitis delta virus (HDV) ribozyme is a non-coding RNA found in the hepatitis delta virus that is necessary for viral replication and is the only...
twister sister ribozyme (TS) is an RNA structure that catalyzes its own cleavage at a specific site. In other words, it is a self-cleaving ribozyme. The twister...
hatchet ribozyme is an RNA structure that catalyzes its own cleavage at a specific site. In other words, it is a self-cleaving ribozyme. Hatchet ribozymes were...
which cleaves RNA. RNase P is unique from other RNases in that it is a ribozyme – a ribonucleic acid that acts as a catalyst in the same way that a protein-based...
Lariat capping ribozyme (formerly called GIR1 branching ribozyme) is a ~180 nt ribozyme with an apparent resemblance to a group I ribozyme. It is found...
with the notable and important exception of the ribosome, which is a ribozyme. The chemical structure of RNA is very similar to that of DNA, but differs...
possess a protein coat. Both virusoids and viroids encode a hammerhead ribozyme. Virusoids, while being studied in virology, are subviral particles rather...
The Vg1 ribozyme is a manganese dependent RNA enzyme or ribozyme which is the smallest ribozyme to be identified. It was identified in the 3′ UTR of Xenopus...
and replicate genetic information. Like protein enzymes, RNA enzymes (ribozymes) can catalyze (start or accelerate) chemical reactions that are critical...
group II ribozymes. These motifs can self-splice by cleaving and joining phosphodiester bonds. The last ribozyme motif, the RNase P ribozyme, is found...
The mammalian CPEB3 ribozyme is a self cleaving non-coding RNA located in the second intron of the CPEB3 gene which belongs to a family of genes regulating...
porous rock systems comprising heated air-water interfaces could allow ribozyme catalyzed RNA replication of sense and antisense strands that could be...
Group I introns are large self-splicing ribozymes. They catalyze their own excision from mRNA, tRNA and rRNA precursors in a wide range of organisms....
012D, the realm is named after the presence of genomic and antigenomic ribozymes of the Deltavirus type. The agents in Ribozyviria are satellite nucleic...
The RNA world hypothesis shows how RNA can become its own catalyst (a ribozyme). In between there are some missing steps such as how the first RNA molecules...
of ribozymes by Thomas Cech and Sidney Altman in the early 1980s, ribozymes have been shown to be a distinct class of metalloenzymes. Many ribozymes require...
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