title: A natural ribozyme with 3',5' RNA ligase activity.
abstract: Using electrophoresis, sequencing and enzymatic digestion, we show that the group I intron from the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 catalyzes phosphodiester bond formation using a triphosphate on the 5'-terminal nucleotide, much like protein polymerases and engineered ribozymes. In the process, this ribozyme forms a unique circular RNA that incorporates the exogenous guanosine cofactor added during self-splicing. This finding may have relevance to a prebiotic RNA world and to modern biology.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, UCB 215, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0215, USA. quentin.vicens@colorado.edu
authors.forename: Quentin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Vicens
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Cech
mesh_terms: D017033:Anabaena / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D002384:Catalysis; D007438:Introns; D011130:RNA Ligase (ATP) / Q000378:metabolism*; D016337:RNA, Catalytic / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016337:RNA, Catalytic; D011130:RNA Ligase (ATP)