The natural RNA enzymes catalyse phosphate-group transfer and peptide-bond formation.
Initially, metal ions were proposed to supply the chemical versatility that nucleotides lack. In …

Cellular RNA molecules contain phosphate or hydroxyl ends. A 2′, 3′-cyclic phosphate
(cP) is one of the 3′-terminal forms of RNAs mainly generated from RNA cleavage by …

Ribozymes enhance chemical reaction rates using many of the same catalytic strategies as
protein enzymes. In the hepatitis delta virus (HDV) ribozyme, site-specific self-cleavage of …

Small endonucleolytic ribozymes promote the self-cleavage of their own phosphodiester
backbone at a specific linkage. The structures of and the reactions catalysed by members of …

The copper (I)‐promoted azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction (click chemistry) is shown to
be compatible with RNA (with free 2′‐hydroxyl groups) in spite of the intrinsic lability of …

Recent crystallographic and functional analyses of RNA enzymes have raised the possibility
that the purine and pyrimidine nucleobases may function as general acid-base catalysts …

RNA plays a direct role in a variety of cellular activities, and in many cases its biological
function is conferred by the RNA three-dimensional structure. X-ray crystallography is the …

Designing artificial systems with catalytic efficiencies to rival those of natural enzymes is one
of the great challenges facing science today. Our current level of understanding fails the …

Understanding how RNA folds and what causes it to unfold has become more important as
knowledge of the diverse functions of RNA has increased. Here we review the contributions …

Divalent metal ions are of fundamental importance to the function and folding of nucleic
acids. Divalent metal ion–nucleic acid interactions are complex in nature and include both …