Abstract
An RNA enzyme derived from the self-splicing intervening sequence of Tetrahymena thermophila catalyses sequence-specific cleavage of an oligodeoxyribonucleotide substrate. Compared with RNA, the DNA substrate is bound very weakly and is cleaved very slowly, revealing the importance of the RNA 2'-hydroxyl group in both the binding and chemical steps. The finding that catalysis by RNA can extend to DNA substrates indicates new possibilities for the transposition of intervening sequences and for the design of DNA cleavage agents with novel sequence specificities.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Kruger, K. et al. Cell 31, 147–157 (1982).
Guerrier-Takada, C., Gardiner, K., Marsh, T., Pace, N. & Altman, S. Cell 35, 849–857 (1983).
Zaug, A. J. & Cech, T. R. Science 231, 470–475 (1986).
Uhlenbeck, O. C. Nature 328, 596–600 (1987).
Cech, T. R. Science 236, 1532–1539 (1987).
Albery, W. J. & Knowles, J. R. Biochemistry 15, 5631–5640 (1976).
Sugimoto, N., Tomka, M., Kierzek, R., Bevilacqua, P. C. & Turner, D. H. Nucleic Acids Res. 17, 355–371 (1989).
Zaug, A. J., Grosshans, C. A. & Cech, T. R. Biochemistry 27, 8924–8931 (1988).
Uchida, T. & Egami, F. in The Enzymes Vol. 4 3rd edn (ed Boyer, P. D.) 205–250 (Academic, New York, 1971).
Fersht, A. Enzyme Structure and Mechanism 2nd edn, 104–105 (W. H. Freeman, New York, 1985).
Lowary, P., Sampson, J., Milligan, J., Groebe, D., Uhlenbeck, O. C. NATO ASI Series. A110, 69–76 (1986).
Craig, M. E., Crothers, D. M. & Doty, P. J. molec. Biol. 62, 383–401 (1971).
Porschke, D. & Eigen, M. J. molec, Biol. 62, 361–381 (1971).
Nelson, J. W. & Tinoco, I. Jr Biochemistry 21, 5289–5295 (1982).
Martin, F. H. & Tinoco, I. Jr Nucleic Acids Res. 8, 2295–2299 (1980).
Walker, G. T. Nucleic Acids Res. 16, 3091–3099 (1988).
Barfod, E. T. & Cech, T. R. Molec. cell. Biol. 9, 3657–3666 (1989).
Doudna, J. A., Cormack, B. P. & Szostak, J. W. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 86, 7402–7406 (1989).
Saenger, W. Principles of Nucleic Acid Structure, 277–281 (Springer-Verlag, New York, 1984).
Pardi, A., Martin, F. H. & Tinoco, I. Jr Biochemistry 20, 3986–3996 (1981).
Chou, S.-H., Flynn, P. & Reid, B. Biochemistry 28, 2435–2443 (1989).
Arnott, S., Chandrasekaran, R., Millane, R. P. & Park, H.-S. J. molec. Biol. 188, 631–640 (1986).
Kumamoto, J., Cox, J. R. Jr & Westheimer, F. H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 78, 4858–4860 (1956).
Haake, P. C. & Westheimer, F. H. J. Am. chem. Soc. 83, 1102–1109 (1961).
Kirby, A. J. & Younas, M. J. chem. Soc. B 1165–1172 (1970).
Jencks, W. P. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. quant. Biol. 52, 65–73 (1987).
Ray, W. J. Jr & Long, J. W. Biochemistry 15, 3993–4006 (1976).
Dujon, B. Gene 82, 91–113 (1989).
Woodson, S. A. & Cech, T. R. Cell 57, 335–345 (1989).
Joyce, G. F. Nature 338, 217–224 (1989).
Benner, S. A., Ellington, A. D. & Tauer, A. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 86, 7054–7058 (1989).
Zaug, A. J., Been, M. D. & Cech, T. R. Nature 324, 429–433 (1986).
Murphy, F. L. & Cech, T. R. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 86, 9218–9222 (1989).
Davies, R. W., Waring, R. B., Ray, J. A., Brown, T. A. & Scazzocchio, C. Nature 300, 719–724 (1982).
Michel, F., Jacquier, A. & Dujon, B. Biochemie 64, 867–881 (1982).
Waring, R. B., Towner, P., Minter, S. J. & Davies, R. W. Nature 321, 133–139 (1986).
Been, M. D. & Cech, T. R. Cell 47, 207–216 (1986).
Zaug, A. J., Grabowski, P. J. & Cech, T. R. Nature 301, 578–583 (1983).
Michel, F., Hanna, M., Green, R., Bartel, D. P. & Szostak, J. W. Nature 342, 391–395 (1989).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Herschlag, D., Cech, T. DNA cleavage catalysed by the ribozyme from Tetrahymena. Nature 344, 405–409 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/344405a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/344405a0
This article is cited by
-
MIF is a 3’ flap nuclease that facilitates DNA replication and promotes tumor growth
Nature Communications (2021)
-
Synthesis of Nucleoside N-Phosphoamino Acids and Peptide Formation
Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres (2005)
-
Self-Splicing and Enzymatic Activity of an Intervening Sequence RNA from Tetrahymena
Bioscience Reports (2004)
-
Isolation of a local tertiary folding transition in the context of a globally folded RNA
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (1996)
-
Efficient integration of an intron RNA into double-stranded DNA by reverse splicing
Nature (1996)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.