title: Bovine pancreatic ribonuclease: fifty years of the first enzymatic reaction mechanism.
abstract: Fifty years ago, the group of Tony Mathias and Bob Rabin at University College London deduced the first mechanism for catalysis by an enzyme, ribonuclease [Findlay, D., Herries, D. G., Mathias, A. P., Rabin, B. R., and Ross, C. A. (1961) Nature 190, 781-784]. Here, we celebrate this historic accomplishment by surveying knowledge of enzymology and protein science at that time, facts that led to the formulation of the mechanism, criticisms and alternative mechanisms, data that supported the proposed mechanism, and some of the refinements that have since provided a more precise picture of catalysis of RNA cleavage by ribonucleases. The Mathias and Rabin mechanism has appeared in numerous textbooks, monographs, and reviews and continues to have a profound impact on biochemistry.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Unitat de Biociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain. claudi.cuchillo@uab.cat
authors.forename: Claudi M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Cuchillo
authors.forename: M Victòria
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Nogués
authors.forename: Ronald T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Raines
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002384:Catalysis; D002417:Cattle; D057075:Enzyme Assays / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000266:history; D012259:Ribonuclease, Pancreatic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000266:history*
chemical_list: D012313:RNA; D012259:Ribonuclease, Pancreatic