CHEMICAL BASIS OF GROUP II INTRON FUNCTION

人们对RNA结构的兴趣越来越大，这是因为发现了 催化RNA分子，可以折叠形成催化活性位点 的化学反应。 II组内含子是自我剪接的RNA， 装备成在两种情况下进行两步酯交换反应， 向前和向后的方向。 内含子的反向剪接可以 发生在DNA或RNA底物中。 在内含子的帮助下 编码成熟酶，第二组内含子位点特异性插入本身 双链DNA 识别RNA结构是有意义的。 反向剪接成DNA所需的元件。核苷酸类似物 干扰作图（NAIM）是一种新的化学遗传学方法， 生物化学表征RNA结构。 在开发A 反向剪接试验，NAIM将用于了解化学 第二组内含子结构和功能的基础。 的相互作用 使用NAIM识别将增加对II组内含子的理解 结构和原子水平上的三级接触。 群体研究 II内含子剪接将产生对前mRNA剪接的许多见解， 因为这两个过程是相似的。 高分辨率的细节 反向剪接过程中II组内含子的结构可能允许 开发新的位点特异性载体， 用于治疗癌症和病毒感染的药剂。

The growing interest in RNA structure has stemmed from the discovery of catalytic RNA molecules that can fold to form active sites for catalysis of chemical reactions. Group II introns are self-splicing RNAs that are equipped to perform the two step transesterification reaction in both the forward and reverse directions. Reverse splicing by the intron can occur into a DNA or RNA substrate. With the assistance of an intron encoded maturase, the group II intron site-specifically inserts itself into duplex DNA. It is of interest to identify the RNA structural elements required for reverse splicing into DNA. Nucleotide Analog Interference Mapping (NAIM) is a novel chemogenetic approach to biochemically characterize RNA structure. After development of a reverse splicing assay, NAIM will be utilized to understand the chemical basis of group II intron structure and function. The interactions identified using NAIM will increase the understanding of group II intron structure and tertiary contacts at the atomic level. The study of group II intron splicing will yield numerous insights into pre-mRNA splicing, since these two processes are similar. High resolution details of the structure of the group II intron during reverse splicing may allow for development of novel site specific vectors that can be used as genetic agents for the treatment of cancer and viral infections.