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The Small Ribozymes: Common and Diverse Features Observed Through the FRET Lens

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Non-Protein Coding RNAs

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Biophysics ((BIOPHYSICS,volume 13))

The hammerhead, hairpin, HDV, VS and glmS ribozymes are the five known, naturally occurring catalytic RNAs classified as the “small ribozymes.” They share common reaction chemistry in cleaving their own backbone by phos-phodiester transfer, but are diverse in their secondary and tertiary structures, indicating that Nature has found at least five independent solutions to a common chemical task. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) has been extensively used to detect conformational changes in these ribozymes and dissect their reaction pathways. Common and diverse features are beginning to emerge that, by extension, highlight general biophysical properties of non-protein coding RNAs.

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  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, 93. N University, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1055, USA

    Dr. Nils G. Walter

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  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, 930 N. University, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1055, USA

    Nils G. Walter (Associate Professor of Chemistry) (Associate Professor of Chemistry)

  2. Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA

    Sarah A. Woodson (Professor of Biophysics) (Professor of Biophysics)

  3. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, Box 215, Boulder, CO, 80309-0215, USA

    Robert T. Batey (Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry) (Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry)

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Walter, N.G., Perumal, S. (2009). The Small Ribozymes: Common and Diverse Features Observed Through the FRET Lens. In: Walter, N.G., Woodson, S.A., Batey, R.T. (eds) Non-Protein Coding RNAs. Springer Series in Biophysics, vol 13. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-70840-7_5

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