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The discovery 25 years ago that RNA
can be enzymatic permits us to speculate that pre-biotic
self-replicating molecules may have been RNAs. This conjecture has
been formulated and given the title of the "RNA World." Of course
no one knows if life evolved from an RNA world, but it is possible
to give an experimental proof of principle if we can create
self-replicating RNAs in vitro. RNA in vitro evolution is now a
commonly used laboratory technique for devising various aptamers
and catalysts. Yet a true self-replicase remains elusive. Our group
is seeking to understand what properties of ribozymes are of
fundamental importance to a plausible RNA World evolutionary
scenerio, and how RNA catalysts evolve in three-dimensional space.
As a first step, we have solved the structure of a RNA Ligase Ribozyme that catalyzes
the assembly of RNA from nucleotide-5'-triphosphate fragments as
substrates.
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