Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Ribozymes

Ribozymes

Ribozymes

Ribozymes

The term ribozyme is used for RNA that can act as an enzyme. Ribozymes are mainly found in selected viruses, bacteria, plant organelles, and lower eukaryotes. Ribozymes were first discovered in 1982 when Tom Cech’s laboratory observed Group I introns acting as enzymes. This was shortly followed by the discovery of another ribozyme, Ribonulcease P, by Sid Altman’s laboratory. Both Cech and Altman received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1989 for their work on ribozymes.
Ribozymes can...

RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins

RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins

RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins

RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins

Proteins that regulate transcription can do so either via direct contact with RNA Polymerase or through indirect interactions facilitated by adaptors, mediators, histone-modifying proteins, and nucleosome remodelers. Direct interactions to activate transcription is seen in bacteria as well as in some eukaryotic genes. In these cases, upstream activation sequences are adjacent to the promoters, and the activator proteins interact directly with the transcriptional machinery. For example, in...

Eukaryotic RNA Polymerases

Eukaryotic RNA Polymerases

Eukaryotic RNA Polymerases

Eukaryotic RNA Polymerases

RNA Polymerase (RNAP) is conserved in all animals, with bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic RNAPs sharing significant sequence, structural, and functional similarities. Among the three eukaryotic RNAPs, RNA Polymerase II is most similar to bacterial RNAP in terms of both structural organization and folding topologies of the enzyme subunits. However, these similarities are not reflected in their mechanism of action.
All three eukaryotic RNAPs require specific transcription factors, of which the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Understanding the role of organizational resilience, workers' well-being, and hazard perception on workplace injuries in an aluminum smelter.

Work (Reading, Mass.)·2026

Same author

Risk assessment in sociotechnical systems based on functional resonance analysis method and hierarchical fuzzy inference tree.

Scientific reports·2025

Same author

Cross-chiral exponential amplification of an RNA enzyme.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2024

Same author

RNA-catalyzed evolution of catalytic RNA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2024

Same author

Correction to "Cross-Chiral, RNA-Catalyzed Exponential Amplification of RNA".

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2024

Same author

RNA Polymerase Ribozyme That Recognizes the Template-Primer Complex through Tertiary Interactions.

Biochemistry·2023

Same journal

Non-canonical amino acid incorporation enables minimally disruptive labeling of stress granule and TDP-43 proteinopathy.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Analysis of dendritic input currents during place field dynamics.

eLife·2026

Same journal

TopoMetry systematically learns and evaluates the latent geometry of single-cell data.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Navigating the path: Advice to physician-scientists on choosing a clinical specialty.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Neural activity profiles reveal overlapping, intermingled subpopulations spanning area borders in mouse sensorimotor cortex.

eLife·2026

Same journal

The exquisite mechanics of a tsetse bite.

eLife·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 22, 2026

Chemical Triphosphorylation of Oligonucleotides

Chemical Triphosphorylation of Oligonucleotides

Published on: June 2, 2022

A reverse transcriptase ribozyme.

Biswajit Samanta¹, Gerald F Joyce¹

¹The Salk Institute, La Jolla, California.

|September 27, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

An RNA polymerase ribozyme was discovered to function as a reverse transcriptase, a novel RNA activity. This finding offers insights into the early evolution of life and the transition from RNA to DNA genomes.

Keywords:

biochemistry none origin of life polymerase reverse transcriptase ribozyme

More Related Videos

RNA Catalyst as a Reporter for Screening Drugs against RNA Editing in Trypanosomes

RNA Catalyst as a Reporter for Screening Drugs against RNA Editing in Trypanosomes

Published on: July 22, 2014

Determining 3'-Termini and Sequences of Nascent Single-Stranded Viral DNA Molecules during HIV-1 Reverse Transcription in Infected Cells

Determining 3'-Termini and Sequences of Nascent Single-Stranded Viral DNA Molecules during HIV-1 Reverse Transcription in Infected Cells

Published on: January 30, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 22, 2026

Chemical Triphosphorylation of Oligonucleotides

Chemical Triphosphorylation of Oligonucleotides

Published on: June 2, 2022

RNA Catalyst as a Reporter for Screening Drugs against RNA Editing in Trypanosomes

RNA Catalyst as a Reporter for Screening Drugs against RNA Editing in Trypanosomes

Published on: July 22, 2014

Determining 3'-Termini and Sequences of Nascent Single-Stranded Viral DNA Molecules during HIV-1 Reverse Transcription in Infected Cells

Determining 3'-Termini and Sequences of Nascent Single-Stranded Viral DNA Molecules during HIV-1 Reverse Transcription in Infected Cells

Published on: January 30, 2019

Area of Science:

Origin of Life Studies
Molecular Evolution
Biochemistry

Background:

The transition from RNA to DNA genomes is a pivotal event in early life.
RNA-dependent RNA polymerases are key enzymes in RNA replication.
Understanding the catalytic capabilities of ribozymes is crucial for origin of life research.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the potential for RNA polymerase ribozymes to exhibit reverse transcriptase activity.
To explore the evolutionary implications of RNA-based reverse transcription in early life.
To characterize the deoxynucleotide incorporation and product synthesis capabilities of the ribozyme.

Main Methods:

Directed evolution of an RNA polymerase ribozyme.
Assays to detect and characterize reverse transcriptase activity.
Analysis of synthesized deoxynucleotide products.

Main Results:

A highly evolved RNA polymerase ribozyme demonstrated reverse transcriptase activity, a previously unknown function for RNA.
The ribozyme incorporated all four deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs).
Products containing up to 32 deoxynucleotides were synthesized.

Conclusions:

RNA polymerase ribozymes can possess reverse transcriptase activity, potentially bridging the RNA-DNA world transition.
This dual functionality could have been critical for the emergence of DNA genomes.
Further evolution may enhance this activity, enabling complete DNA genome synthesis from RNA templates.