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One Sequence, Two Ribozymes: Implications for the Emergence of New Ribozyme Folds
Erik A. Schultes,David P. Bartel*
We describe a single RNA sequence that can assume either
of two ribozyme folds and catalyze the two respective reactions.The
two ribozyme folds share no evolutionary history and are completelydifferent, with no base pairs (and probably no hydrogen bonds)in
common. Minor variants of this sequence are highly active forone or
the other reaction, and can be accessed from prototyperibozymes
through a series of neutral mutations. Thus, in thecourse of
evolution, new RNA folds could arise from preexistingfolds, without
the need to carry inactive intermediate sequences.This raises the
possibility that biological RNAs having no structuralor functional
similarity might share a common ancestry. Furthermore,functional and
structural divergence might, in some cases, precederather than follow
gene duplication.
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of
Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 9 Cambridge Center,
Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
dbartel{at}wi.mit.edu
The editors suggest the following Related Resources on Science sites:
In Science Magazine
PERSPECTIVES
Gerald F. Joyce (21 July 2000) Science289 (5478), 401.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.289.5478.401] |Summary »|Full Text »
PERSPECTIVES
Elizabeth E. Brittle and M. Gerard Waters (21 July 2000) Science289 (5478), 403.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.289.5478.403] |Summary »|Full Text »
REPORTS
Bernard B. Allan, Bryan D. Moyer, and William E. Balch (21 July 2000) Science289 (5478), 444.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.289.5478.444] |Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
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