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The structure and function of catalytic RNAs

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Abstract

Before the discovery of ribozymes, RNA had been proposed to function as a catalyst, based on the discovery that RNA folded into high-ordered structures as protein did. This hypothesis was confirmed in the 1980s, after the discovery of Tetrahymena group I intron and RNase P ribozyme. There have been about ten ribozymes identified during the past thirty years, as well as the fact that ribosomes function as ribozymes. Advances have been made in understanding the structures and functions of ribozymes, with numerous crystal structures resolved in the past years. Here we review the structure-function relationship of both small and large ribozymes, especially the structural basis of their catalysis. ribozyme, structure, catalysis

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Virology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

    QiJia Wu, Lin Huang & Yi Zhang

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Correspondence to QiJia Wu.

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Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30330170) and National Key Basic Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2005CB724604)

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Wu, Q., Huang, L. & Zhang, Y. The structure and function of catalytic RNAs. SCI CHINA SER C 52, 232–244 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-009-0038-z

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