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Related Concept Videos

Ribozymes02:47

Ribozymes

12.7K
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...
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Mutations in Microorganisms01:18

Mutations in Microorganisms

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Mutations are heritable changes in an organism’s genome involving alterations in the base sequence of DNA or RNA. These changes can influence cellular processes and phenotypic traits, potentially transforming the unaltered wild type into a mutant form. Such changes, termed forward mutations, are pivotal in shaping the genetic diversity of organisms.RNA viruses exhibit the highest mutation rates due to the absence of robust proofreading mechanisms during genome replication. In contrast,...
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Riboswitches01:56

Riboswitches

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Riboswitches are non-coding mRNA domains that regulate the transcription and translation of downstream genes without the help of proteins. Riboswitches bind directly to a metabolite and can form unique stem-loop or hairpin structures in response to the amount of the metabolite present. They have two distinct regions – a metabolite-binding aptamer and an expression platform.
The aptamer has high specificity for a particular metabolite which allows riboswitches to specifically regulate...
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Spontaneous and Induced Mutations01:30

Spontaneous and Induced Mutations

285
Spontaneous mutations arise infrequently during DNA replication due to errors in the process. A key factor behind these errors is tautomeric shifts in nitrogenous bases, where bases transition from keto to enol forms or amino to imino forms. This shift can alter base-pairing rules, leading to mutations. Additionally, reactive oxygen species (ROS) arising from aerobic metabolism can damage DNA, resulting in depurination (loss of a purine base) or depyrimidination (loss of a pyrimidine base).
285
Viral Mutations00:36

Viral Mutations

34.4K
A mutation is a change in the sequence of bases of DNA or RNA in a genome. Some mutations occur during replication of the genome due to errors made by the polymerase enzymes that replicate DNA or RNA. Unlike DNA polymerase, RNA polymerase is prone to errors because it is not capable of “proofreading” its work. Viruses with RNA-based genomes, like HIV, therefore accrue mutations faster than viruses with DNA-based genomes. Because mutation and recombination provide the raw material...
34.4K
Bacterial RNA Polymerase00:43

Bacterial RNA Polymerase

30.8K
Unlike eukaryotes, bacteria use a single RNA Polymerase (RNAP) to transcribe all genes. The different subunits of bacterial RNAPhave distinct functions. The multisubunit structure of the bacterial RNAP helps the enzyme to maintain catalytic function, facilitate assembly, interact with DNA and RNA, and self-regulate its activity.
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 7, 2025

Studying Ribonucleotide Incorporation: Strand-specific Detection of Ribonucleotides in the Yeast Genome and Measuring Ribonucleotide-induced Mutagenesis
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Studying Ribonucleotide Incorporation: Strand-specific Detection of Ribonucleotides in the Yeast Genome and Measuring Ribonucleotide-induced Mutagenesis

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Ribozyme Mutagenic Evolution: Mechanisms of Survival.

Carolina Diaz Arenas1,2, Aleksandra Ardaševa3, Jonathan Miller4

  • 1Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. cdiaza@unal.edu.co.

Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere : the Journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life
|January 7, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

High mutation rates were essential for early life survival. Ribozyme populations evolved complex networks and increased size to prevent extinction and maintain genetic information.

Keywords:
ExtinctionGenotypic diversityMutagenic evolutionQuasispeciesRibozyme

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Mutagenesis and Functional Selection Protocols for Directed Evolution of Proteins in E. coli
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Site-Directed Mutagenesis for In Vitro and In Vivo Experiments Exemplified with RNA Interactions in Escherichia Coli
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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 7, 2025

Studying Ribonucleotide Incorporation: Strand-specific Detection of Ribonucleotides in the Yeast Genome and Measuring Ribonucleotide-induced Mutagenesis
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Studying Ribonucleotide Incorporation: Strand-specific Detection of Ribonucleotides in the Yeast Genome and Measuring Ribonucleotide-induced Mutagenesis

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Mutagenesis and Functional Selection Protocols for Directed Evolution of Proteins in E. coli
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Site-Directed Mutagenesis for In Vitro and In Vivo Experiments Exemplified with RNA Interactions in Escherichia Coli
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Area of Science:

  • Origin of Life
  • Molecular Evolution
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Early life faced high mutation rates, risking genetic information loss.
  • Mechanisms like RNA processivity, epistasis, selection, and quasispecies combat mutation pressure.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate how small molecular ribozyme populations survive high error rates.
  • Determine the evolutionary strategies employed by ribozymes under mutagenic conditions.

Main Methods:

  • Propagated ribozyme lineages under varying mutagen concentrations.
  • Analyzed genotypic diversity, genotype-genotype interaction networks, mutant fitness, and population size dynamics.

Main Results:

  • Populations evolved without mutagens went extinct; those with mutagens survived.
  • Elevated mutation rates were crucial for survival in the new environment.
  • Increased population size and coupled genotypes in networks prevented Muller's ratchet.

Conclusions:

  • High mutation rates can be adaptive, promoting survival and adaptation in early life.
  • Genotype-genotype interactions and network formation are key to maintaining genetic diversity and preventing extinction.
  • Ribozyme evolution demonstrates a strategy for overcoming mutation accumulation in primordial systems.