Structure, folding and mechanisms of ribozymes

The past two years have seen exciting developments in RNA catalysis. A completely new ribozyme (possibly two) has come along and several new structures have been determined, including three different group I intron species. Although the origins of catalysis remain incompletely understood, a significant convergence of views has happened in the past year, together with the discovery of new super-fast ribozymes. There is persuasive evidence of general acid-base chemistry in nucleolytic ribozymes, whereas catalysis of peptidyl transfer in the ribosome seems to result largely from orientation and proximity effects. Lastly, important new folding-enhancing elements have been discovered.