Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Selection of RNA amide synthases

T W Wiegand1, R C Janssen, B E Eaton

  • 1NeXstar Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, Boulder, CO 80301, USA.

Chemistry & Biology
|October 23, 1997
PubMed
Summary

Researchers discovered novel RNA catalysts that synthesize amide bonds, crucial for peptide formation. These RNA amide synthases demonstrate that RNA can facilitate covalent bond creation without templates, opening new evolutionary pathways.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Prediction of the Critical Line of a Binary Mixture: Evaluation of the Interaction Parameters.

Journal of research of the National Bureau of Standards (1977)·2021
Same author

In vivo knockdown of p85alpha with an antisense oligonucleotide improves insulin sensitivity in Lep(ob/ob) and diet-induced obese mice.

Hormone and metabolic research = Hormon- und Stoffwechselforschung = Hormones et metabolisme·2009
Same author

Intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) treatment of choroidal neovascularisation in patients with angioid streaks.

The British journal of ophthalmology·2008
Same author

Cobalt-catalyzed alkyne-nitrile cyclotrimerization to form pyridines in aqueous solution.

Organic letters·2000
Same author

Synthesis of N,N-dialkylaniline-2'-deoxyuridine conjugates for DNA-mediated electron transfer studies.

Nucleosides, nucleotides & nucleic acids·2000
Same author

Bimolecular DNA triplexes: duplex extensions show implications for H-form DNA stability.

Biochemistry·1997

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Origin of Life Studies

Background:

  • The evolution of life is thought to have involved a prebiotic RNA world.
  • RNA molecules may have catalyzed amide-bond formation, initiating peptide and protein synthesis.
  • While ribozymes catalyze phosphodiester bonds, their role in amide-bond formation is debated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate RNA's capability in catalyzing amide-bond synthesis.
  • To determine if RNA can form amide bonds without specific templates.
  • To kinetically characterize novel RNA catalysts for amidation.

Main Methods:

  • Isolation of RNA catalysts mediating amide-bond synthesis.
  • Kinetic characterization of the isolated RNA catalysts.
  • Investigation of the role of Cu2+ ions in RNA-mediated amidation.

Main Results:

  • Successfully isolated RNA catalysts capable of amide-bond synthesis.
  • Achieved a rate enhancement of approximately 10^4 for RNA-catalyzed amidation compared to non-catalyzed reactions.
  • Observed that Cu2+ ions influenced RNA-substrate affinity but were not directly involved in catalysis.

Conclusions:

  • Discovered novel RNA amide synthases that facilitate covalent-bond formation without templating.
  • Demonstrated that functionally modified nucleic acids can evolve to perform complex chemical reactions.
  • Suggests that RNA evolved substrate-binding pockets analogous to protein enzymes for amide-bond formation, supporting new RNA evolution pathways.

Related Experiment Videos