title: A ribozyme that ligates RNA to protein.
abstract: We have used a combination of in vitro selection and rational design to generate ribozymes that form a stable phosphoamide bond between the 5' terminus of an RNA and a specific polypeptide. This reaction differs from that of previously identified ribozymes, although the product is analogous to the enzyme-nucleotidyl intermediates isolated during the reactions of certain proteinaceous enzymes, such as guanyltransferase, DNA ligase, and RNA ligase. Comparative sequence analysis of the isolated ribozymes revealed that they share a compact secondary structure containing six stems arranged in a four-helix junction and branched pseudoknot. An optimized version of the ribozyme reacts with substrate-fusion proteins, allowing it to be used to attach RNA tags to proteins both in vitro and within bacterial cells, suggesting a simple way to tag a specific protein with amplifiable information.
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baskerville
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Bartel
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D015195:Drug Design; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008024:Ligands; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D016337:RNA, Catalytic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D010455:Peptides; D011506:Proteins; D016337:RNA, Catalytic; D012313:RNA