title: Structure and function of the small ribozymes.
abstract: Recently, major advances have been made toward increasing our understanding of small ribozyme structure and function. The first general acid-base catalytic mechanism for a ribozyme has been defined. Shifted nucleotide pK(a) values have been found to be surprisingly frequent structural elements. Finally, the dynamic nature of RNA catalysis has been highlighted through new structural and biochemical information.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 433 Babcock Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA. butcher@nmrfam.wisc.edu
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Butcher
mesh_terms: D003698:Hepatitis Delta Virus / Q000235:genetics; D009491:Neurospora / Q000235:genetics; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D016337:RNA, Catalytic / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016337:RNA, Catalytic