3bwp

Publication Abstract from PubMed

Group II introns are self-splicing ribozymes that catalyze their own excision from precursor transcripts and insertion into new genetic locations. Here we report the crystal structure of an intact, self-spliced group II intron from Oceanobacillus iheyensis at 3.1 angstrom resolution. An extensive network of tertiary interactions facilitates the ordered packing of intron subdomains around a ribozyme core that includes catalytic domain V. The bulge of domain V adopts an unusual helical structure that is located adjacent to a major groove triple helix (catalytic triplex). The bulge and catalytic triplex jointly coordinate two divalent metal ions in a configuration that is consistent with a two-metal ion mechanism for catalysis. Structural and functional analogies support the hypothesis that group II introns and the spliceosome share a common ancestor.

Crystal structure of a self-spliced group II intron.,Toor N, Keating KS, Taylor SD, Pyle AM Science. 2008 Apr 4;320(5872):77-82. PMID:18388288^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.