Ribozyme (Ribosim)

Ribozyme: an RNA molecule that has the properties of an enzyme

Research in the field of RNA in recent years has shown that these molecules not only provide a template for protein synthesis, but are also capable of performing the functions of enzymes. One example of such a molecule is a ribozyme.

A ribozyme is an RNA molecule that has the ability to catalyze changes in its molecular structure. This property makes the ribozyme similar to protein enzymes, which can also catalyze chemical reactions in the body.

The discovery of ribozymes was of great importance for understanding the evolution of life on Earth. As is known, the replication of DNA and RNA molecules requires the presence of enzymes. However, protein enzymes are produced in the body only during the coding process of DNA, which leads to the question: how could nucleic acid molecules arise and function in the early stages of evolution, when protein enzymes had not yet been created?

Ribozymes were the answer to this question. These molecules can function as enzymes, catalyzing chemical reactions necessary for their own functioning. Thus, ribozymes could serve as the first enzymes in organisms at early stages of evolution.

Currently, ribozymes are used in various fields of science and technology. For example, recent research has shown that genetically engineered ribozymes can be used to destroy the RNA molecules of the AIDS virus (human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)). This opens up new opportunities for creating new drugs to combat infectious diseases.

Thus, ribozymes are unique RNA molecules that can perform the functions of enzymes and are of great importance for understanding the processes of the evolution of life on Earth. The development of new methods for using ribozymes could lead to the creation of new drugs and other innovative technologies.

Ribozyme is a unique RNA molecule that can perform the functions of an enzyme. Before the discovery of ribozymes, all enzymes were considered proteins, but with the advent of ribozymes, scientists were faced with a new class of enzymes that consist of nucleic acids.

Replication of DNA and RNA molecules is impossible without enzymes that catalyze changes in the molecular structure of nucleic acids. However, protein enzymes can only be produced during the coding process of DNA, raising the question of how nucleic acid molecules could independently catalyze their replication in the early stages of evolution.

The discovery of ribozymes solved this mystery. Ribozymes are RNA molecules that are capable of catalyzing their own replication and other reactions necessary for cell life. Because of this, they have become a key element in research about the evolution of life on Earth.

Recent research has shown that ribozymes can be used to fight viruses. In particular, genetically engineered ribozymes can destroy the RNA molecules of the AIDS virus (HIV). These results open up new prospects in the treatment of viral infections and other diseases associated with dysfunction of RNA molecules.

Thus, ribozymes are unique molecules that not only helped to understand how nucleic acids can catalyze their replication, but also found application in medicine. Research in this area continues, and perhaps we will see even more amazing properties of these molecules in the future.

Ribozyme (eng. ribozyme) is an RNA molecule (ribosome) capable of catalyzing a biochemical reaction in a cell without the help of external biocatalysts. The possibility of the existence of ribozymes was predicted by Watson and co-authors back in 1954 when developing the Watson-Crick model, and for a long time remained the subject of intensive research by molecular biologists, due to the fact that the conditions for protein crystallization created obvious difficulties in studying the ribozyme. In an article by Robert S. Gautschi, published in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on March 20, 1992, entitled “Discovery of ribozymes in the mid-to-late RNA world,” the data were first published about the presence in the genomes of the richest uranium-containing viruses (namely PHU1 UGA Rep I and BSC3) of sets of RNA molecules similar in structure to ribozymes. Based on the results of the studies, it was found that nine of these RNA molecules isolated from viral genomes have RNA sequences that are highly likely to be ribozyme modules. The rate of intracellular replication of nucleic acids is much higher than the rate of protein synthesis. That is, the construction of a protein construct includes 4 stages: transcription, synthesis of a transfer RNA chain from a codon, peptidyl transferase reaction, translation. Logical