Ruffner D E, Uhlenbeck O C
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder 80309.
Nucleic Acids Res. 1990 Oct 25;18(20):6025-9. doi: 10.1093/nar/18.20.6025.
A hammerhead domain of less than 50 nucleotides is responsible for a self-cleavage reaction in the replication of plant RNA pathogens. The hammerhead is composed of three helices joining at a central conserved core of 11 single stranded nucleotides. The core is believed to fold into a tertiary structure that provides functional groups for catalysis and to coordinate one or more divalent metal ions. In this study we use a phosphorothioate substitution interference assay to identify four phosphates in the conserved core which also play a role in the self-cleavage reaction.
一个长度小于50个核苷酸的锤头结构域在植物RNA病原体的复制过程中负责自我切割反应。锤头结构由三个螺旋组成，它们在一个由11个单链核苷酸构成的中央保守核心处相连。人们认为该核心会折叠成一种三级结构，为催化作用提供官能团并配位一个或多个二价金属离子。在本研究中，我们使用硫代磷酸酯取代干扰试验来鉴定保守核心中的四个磷酸基团，它们在自我切割反应中也发挥作用。
