FOLDING OF GROUP II INTRON RIBOZYME

第二组内含子存在于植物的细胞器基因中， 真菌和酵母以及许多细菌的基因组中。 组II 内含子作为潜在治疗剂和作为 理解折叠、催化和分子的模型系统 进化 第二组内含子折叠成 活性结构，催化多种多步反应 是一个有趣的未解之谜。 的 第二组核酶也提供了一个有价值的测试的一般性， 主要观察到的折叠特性 I组核酶。 初步研究正在进行中，以确定 同步辐射X射线足迹法研究的条件 可以研究组II核酶的折叠。

Group II introns are found in the organellar genes of plants, fungi, and yeast and in the genomes of many bacteria. Group II introns have great promise as potential therapeutic agents and as model systems for the understanding folding, catalysis and molecular evolution. The pathway by which a group II intron folds into its active structure and catalyzes the variety of multi-step reactions involved in self-splicing is an intriguing unanswered question. The group II ribozymes also provide a valuable test of the generality of the folding characteristics that have been observed predominantly in Group I ribozymes. Preliminary studies are underway to determine the conditions under which synchrotron x-ray footprinting studies of the folding of a Group II ribozyme can be studied.