Ribozymes that use redox cofactors
S. Tsukiji, K. Ramaswamy, and H. Suga
Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, School
of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan; Department
of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York,
Buffalo, NY 14260-3000, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, University
at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260-3000,
USA; Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University
of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-8904, Japan
Abstract: This review summarizes the history and most recent
advances in aptamers and ribozymes that bind and use redox (reduction�oxidation)
cofactors. Redox reactions, catalyzed by protein enzymes in an extant
world, play a central role in the metabolism of numerous biological
molecules in the living organisms. The burden of catalyzing these reactions
in a pre-protein-based world (i.e., the hypothesized RNA World) could
have been borne by RNA molecules. To this end, we raise a fundamental
question: can RNA accelerate the redox chemical transformation? We hope
that this article will be able to shed light on this intriguing question.
*Lecture presented at the symposium "Chemistry of nucleic acids", as part of the 39th IUPAC Congress and 86th Conference of the Canadian Society for Chemistry: Chemistry at the Interfaces, Ottawa, Canada, 10-15 August 2003. Other Congress presentations are published in this issue, pp. 1295-1603.
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