Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
2828142 Blood Cells, Molecules, and Diseases 2007 8 Pages PDF
Abstract

The formation of lariat intermediates during the first step of splicing of group II introns and spliceosomal introns is a well-studied fundamental reaction in molecular biology. Apart from this prominent example, there are surprisingly few occurrences of branched nucleotides or even 2′,5′-phosphodiester bonds in biology. We recently described a new ribozyme, the GIR1 branching ribozyme, which catalyzes the formation of a tiny lariat that caps an mRNA. This new example together with work on artificial branching ribozymes and deoxyribozymes shows that branching is facile and points to the possibility that branching reactions could be more prevalent than previously recognized.

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Life Sciences Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology Molecular Biology
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