Abstract
Organic molecules called coenzymes are central to metabolism, but have also been found to act as components of RNA in bacteria. A study reveals how coenzymes are incorporated into RNA. See Letter p.444 To prevent degradation, both ends of messenger RNAs are modified to block nucleases. Until recently, the only modification known to protect the 5' end was a 7-methylguanylate 'cap', although it has been found that some mRNAs use NAD+ or dpCoA instead. It has been assumed that the mechanism of addition of these alternative caps would be the same. However, Bryce Nickels and colleagues now show that alternative caps use a distinct mechanism, by which they are incorporated during, not after, transcription initiation. In both bacterial and eukaryotic cells, RNA polymerase uses these moieties as non-canonical initiating nucleotides, and their use has functional consequences.
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