title: The catalytic core of the sunY intron of bacteriophage T4.
abstract: The self-splicing sunY intron of bacteriophage T4 shares a common secondary structure with other group I introns. A long open reading frame within the intron is entirely 3' of the structural elements conserved in all group I introns. This catalytic core is the smallest yet described for a self-splicing intron. An internal deletion of 728 nucleotides (nt), leaving 196 nt at the 5' end and 109 nt at the 3' end, allows normal self-splicing. Transcripts terminating 196 nt 3' of the 5' splice site retain catalytic activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York, Albany 12222.
authors.forename: M Q
authors.initials: MQ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Shub
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D005814:Genes, Viral; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D007438:Introns; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D012326:RNA Splicing; D016337:RNA, Catalytic; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D013604:T-Phages / Q000235:genetics*; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D016337:RNA, Catalytic; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal; D012367:RNA, Viral; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate