RNA structure, metal ions, and catalysis

Current Opinion in Chemical Biology

Volumn 3, Issue 6, 1999, Pages 705-710

  Scott, William G ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

LEAD; METAL ION; RIBOZYME;

CATALYSIS; CRYSTAL STRUCTURE; NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING; RNA STRUCTURE; SHORT SURVEY;

EID: 0032734004     PISSN: 13675931     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/S1367-5931(99)00029-0     Document Type: Review

References (22)

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17. 2+. Biochemistry. 31:1992;3887-3895.
18. Hoogstraten C.G., Legault P., Pardi A. NMR solution structure of the lead-dependent ribozyme: evidence for dynamics in RNA catalysis. J Mol Biol. 284:1998;337-350. The first NMR-determined structure of a ribozyme is presented in the context of a Pb-dependent in vitro selected ribozyme. Evidence for a protonated C·A pair is presented, and its possible mechanistic relevance is examined.
19. ••] discusses the resonance assignment process as well as experiments designed to probe the conformational dynamics of the ribozyme.
20. Wedekind J.E., McKay D.B. Crystal structure of a lead-dependent ribozyme revealing metal binding sites relevant to catalysis. Nat Struct Biol. 6:1999;261-268. The crystal structure of the Pb-dependent ribozyme is compared with the NMR structure, and several metal-bound states of the ribozyme - produced as heavy atom derivatives to aid in solving the phase problem - are also examined. Two conformations appear in the crystal, one of which is believed to be pre-catalytic. On the basis of the metal binding data, the authors propose a mechanism for Pb-mediated catalysis.
21. Murray J.B., Terwey D.P., Maloney L., Karpeisky A., Usman N., Beigelman L., Scott W.G. The structural basis of hammerhead ribozyme self-cleavage. Cell. 92:1998;665-673.
22. Perrotta A.T., Shih I.-H., Been M.D. Imidazole rescue of a cytosine mutation in a self-cleaving ribozyme. Science. 286:1999;123-126. The authors provide strong evidence that the cleavage-site cytosine is directly involved in initiating the self-cleavage reaction of the HDV ribozyme, serving the function of a general base catalyst. It is still possible that the apparently required divalent metal ion plays some other active role in the chemistry of catalysis, but it is clear that this cannot be regarded as a forgone conclusion.