Hairpin ribozyme catalysis: a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy study.
The existence of an "RNA world" as an early step in the history of life increases the interest for the characterization of these biomolecules. The hairpin ribozyme studied here is a self-cleaving/ligating motif found in the minus strand of the satellite RNA associated with Tobacco ringspot virus. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a powerful tool to study trace amounts of RNA. In controlled conditions, a SERS signal is proportional to the amount of free residues adsorbed on the metal surface. On RNA cleavage, residues are unpaired and free to interact with metal. SERS procedures are used to monitor and quantify the catalysis of ribozyme cleavage at biological concentrations in real time; thus, they propose an interesting alternative to electrophoretic methods.
Percot
Aline
A
Laboratoire de Dynamique, Interactions et Réactivité (LADIR), UMR 7075 CNRS and UPMC Univ Paris 06, 2 rue Henry Dunant, 94320 Thiais, France.
Lecomte
Sophie
S
Vergne
Jacques
J
Maurel
Marie-Christine
MC
D001483:Base Sequence; D055162:Biocatalysis / Q000187:drug effects; D002138:Calibration; D003102:Colloids; D007700:Kinetics; D015636:Magnesium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D016337:RNA, Catalytic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman
D003102:Colloids; D016337:RNA, Catalytic; C418481:hairpin ribozyme; D015636:Magnesium Chloride