Group II Introns: Highly Structured yet Dynamic

Authors

  • Esra Ahunbay Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8347-2251
  • Susann Zelger-Paulus Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich
  • Roland K. O. Sigel Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2023.235

PMID:

38047803

Keywords:

Group II intron, RNA catalysis, RNA folding, RNA labeling, RNA splicing

Abstract

RNA splicing, the removal of introns and ligation of exons, is a crucial process during mRNA maturation. Group II introns are large ribozymes that self-catalyze their splicing, as well as their transposition. They are living fossils of spliceosomal introns and eukaryotic retroelements. The yeast mitochondrial Sc.ai5γ is the first identified and best-studied self-splicing group II intron. A combination of biochemical, biophysical, and computational tools enables studying its catalytic properties, structure, and dynamics, while also serving to develop new therapeutic and biotechnological tools. We survey the history of group II intron studies paralleling the trends in RNA methodology with Sc.ai5γ in the spotlight.

Funding data

CHIMIA Vol. 77 No. 4 (2023): Laureates: Junior Prizes of the Fall Meeting 2022

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Published

2023-04-26

Issue

Vol. 77 No. 4 (2023): Laureates: Junior Prizes of the Fall Meeting 2022

Section

Scientific Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Esra Ahunbay, Susann Zelger-Paulus, Roland K. O. Sigel

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

[1]
E. Ahunbay, S. Zelger-Paulus, R. K. O. Sigel, Chimia 2023, 77, 235, DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2023.235.