Catalysis in living cells is carried out by both proteins and RNA. Protein enzymes have been
known for over 200 years, but RNA enzymes, or “ribozymes”, were discovered only 30 years …

One mechanism by which ribozymes can accelerate biological reactions is by adopting folds
that favorably perturb nucleobase ionization. Herein we used Raman crystallography to …

Charged bases occur in RNA enzymes, or ribozymes, where they play key roles in catalysis.
Cationic bases donate protons and perform electrostatic catalysis, while anionic bases …

Electrostatic interactions are fundamental to RNA structure and function, and intimately
influenced by solvation and the ion atmosphere. RNA enzymes, or ribozymes, are catalytic …

The discovery of RNA-catalyzed phosphodiester bond cleavage by Cech and Altman in
1982− 1983 shattered the paradigm of protein-dependent biological catalysis and opened …

Poor RNA. Being comprised of only four subunits, and chemically similar subunits at that, it
is a wonder that RNA can have efficient enzymatic activity. Nonetheless, beginning with the …

RNA performs a wide range of functions in biology including catalysis of chemical reactions.
A major goal in the field of ribozyme chemical biology is to understand these functions in …

Several small ribozymes employ general acid–base catalysis as a mechanism to enhance
site-specific RNA cleavage, even though the functional groups on the ribonucleoside …

RNA enzymes as they have in metalloproteins. Will the principles governing catalysis in
hydrolytic protein enzymes such as carboxypeptidase, a zinc metalloprotein that catalyzes …

Twenty years have passed since the initial discovery of catalytic RNA. Although initial
discoveries of ribozymes (RNA enzymes) involved phosphoryl transfer reactions on RNA …