title: Ribozymes: the first 20 years.
abstract: Twenty years have passed since the first reports that certain RNAs mediate self-splicing and precursor tRNA processing reactions in the absence of proteins. An entire field emerged to learn how RNAs that lack the chemical versatility of amino acids nonetheless assemble into enzymes that accelerate chemical reactions with efficiencies that rival those of their protein counterparts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, MB 35, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Martha J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Fedor
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Westhof
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D012322:RNA Precursors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012326:RNA Splicing; D016337:RNA, Catalytic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012322:RNA Precursors; D016337:RNA, Catalytic