Ribozymes(RNA Enzymes)

David Peterson

Enzymes•Catalyze reactions

•Very specific

•Act on substrates

•Active site

Enzymes Bind Substrates

Enzymes Bind Substrates

Enzymes Bind Substrates

Structure of RNA and DNA

DNA RNA Protein

Information Flow in CellsThe Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

Transcription Translation

Semiconservative DNA Replication

Amino acids combine to make peptides and proteins

mRNA Splicing

Ribosomes

• Site of protein synthesis

• Made of RNA and protein

Tetrahymena thermophila

Self-Splicing RNA

Cech, Zaug, and Grabowski.1981. Cell 27: 487-496

Single-Stranded RNA Can Form Intramolecular Base Pairs

Intramolecular H-bonds in the Tetrahymena Ribozyme

3D Structure of the Self-Splicing Intron

Ribosomes

• Site of protein synthesis

• Made of RNA and protein

Tom Cech Sidney Altman

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1989