Allosterically controllable maxizymes cleave mRNA with high efficiency and specificity

Ribozymes are small and versatile nucleic acids that can cleave RNA molecules at specific sites. However, because of the limited number of cleavable sequences on the target mRNA, in some cases conventional ribozymes do not have precise cleavage specificity. To overcome this problem, an allosteric version (a maxizyme) was developed that displayed activity and specificity in vivo. More than five custom-designed maxizymes have demonstrated sensor functions, which indicates that the technology might be broadly applicable in molecular biology and possibly in the clinic.