Protein-facilitated ribozyme folding and catalysis.

Nucleic Acids Symp Ser (Oxf)

Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.

Published: November 2010

AI Article Synopsis

  • Large RNAs need proteins to properly fold in living organisms, with the DEAD-box protein Mss116 playing a key role in the S. cerevisiae group II intron ai5 gamma.
  • There is ongoing debate about whether Mss116 helps by stabilizing the right intermediate structures during RNA folding or by preventing misfolded ones.
  • The text reviews current experimental evidence to clarify these mechanisms and explores different interpretations of the findings.

Article Abstract

In vivo, large RNAs rely on proteins to fold to their native conformation. In the case of the S. cerevisiae group II intron ai5 gamma, the DEAD-box protein Mss116 has been shown to promote the formation of the catalytically active structure. However, it is a matter of debate whether it does this by stabilizing on-pathway intermediates or by disrupting misfolded structures. Here we present the available experimental evidence to distinguish between those mechanisms and discuss the possible interpretations.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/nass/nrn034DOI Listing

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