New Scope of RNA Functional Structures

该项目四年来的主要成果在1996年9月24日举行的第六次研讨会上作了介绍。在第六次研讨会上，作为第一个“RNA功能表达机制”的结果，介绍了涉及选择性剪接调控的RNA结合蛋白的三级结构，执行精确tRNA识别的I类氨酰-tRNA合成酶，以及具有特征二级结构的动物线粒体tRNAs。此外，还介绍了I组内含子RNA的激活机制、核糖体RNA的功能以及蛋白质对tRNAs的分子模拟。在第二个项目“RNA新功能的研究”中，介绍了新型低分子RNA的反译机制、核糖体RNA中两个结构域之间的通讯机制以及线粒体RNA在果蝇生殖系成熟中的作用。作为第三个项目“RNA的起源和进化”的成果，介绍了氨基酰-tRNA合成酶、病毒核酶、线粒体tRNA基因突变引起的线粒体疾病的起源和进化机制。这些结果汇总在一份印刷报告中。

The major results of the project for four years were presented in the 6th symposium on 24th of September, 1996. In the 6th symposium, as the results of the first "mechanism of RNA function expression", tertiary structures of RNA binding proteins involving the regulation of alternative splicing, class I aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases which perform precise tRNA recognition, and the animal mitochondrial tRNAs having characteristic secondary structures were presented. Furthermore, mechanism of activation of group I intron RNA,function of ribosomal RNA,and the molecular mimicry of tRNAs by proteins were also presented. As for the second project "investigation of new function of RNA", mechanism of trans-translation by the novel low molecular RNAs, communication mechanism between two domains in the ribosomal RNA,and function of mitochondrial RNAs on germ line maturation in Drosophila were presented. As the results of the third project "orign and evolution of RNA", the origin and evolution mechanism of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, ribozymes from virus, mitochondrial disease due to the mutation of mitochondrial tRNA genes were presented. These results were summarized in a printed report.