Since the 1980s, several small RNA motifs capable of chemical catalysis have been
discovered. These small ribozymes, composed of between approximately 40 and 200 …

The roles that metal ions play in the structure and dynamics of RNA molecules are long-
standing problems that have been studied extensively but are still not well understood. Here …

Ribonuclease P (RNase P) is a ribonucleoprotein enzyme that contains a universally
conserved, catalytically active RNA component. RNase P RNA requires divalent metal ions …

Ribosomes are multifunctional RNP complexes whose catalytic activities absolutely depend
on divalent metal ions. It is assumed that structurally and functionally important metal ions …

Pistol ribozyme (Psr) is a distinct class of small endonucleolytic ribozymes, which are
important experimental systems for defining fundamental principles of RNA catalysis and …

Many enzymes use metal ions within their active sites to achieve enormous rate
acceleration. Understanding how metal ions mediate catalysis requires elucidation of metal …

The hepatitis delta virus (HDV) ribozyme is an RNA enzyme from the human pathogenic
HDV. Cations play a crucial role in self-cleavage of the HDV ribozyme, by promoting both …

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 …

The presence of catalytic metal ions in RNA active sites has often been inferred from metal-
ion rescue of modified substrates and sometimes from inhibitory effects of alternative metal …

RNA molecules are exquisitely sensitive to the properties of counterions. The folding
equilibrium of the Tetrahymena ribozyme is measured by nondenaturing gel electrophoresis …