RNAs and ribonucleoproteins in recognition and catalysis

Abstract

CONTENTS. 1. Did life begin with catalytic RNA?–2. Self‐splicing and self‐cleaving RNAs–2.1 Self‐splicing of group I introns – 2.2 Self‐splicing of group II introns – 2.3 Self‐cleaving RNAs–3. Splicing mediated by trans‐acting factors–3.1 Group III introns – 3.2 Splicing of nuclear pre‐mRNAs – 3.3 Trans‐splicing – 3.4 Is nuclear pre‐mRNA splicing evolutionarily related to group I and group II self‐splicing?– 3.5 Non‐RNA mediated splicing of tRNAs–4. Processing of ribosomal precursor RNAs–5. Processing of pre‐mRNA 3′ ends–5.1 Polyadenylation – 5.2 Histone pre‐mRNA 3′ processing–6. Other RNPs involved in metabolic mechanisms–6.1 5′ end processing of pre‐tRNAs by RNase P – 6.2 The signal recognition particle – 6.3 Telomerase – 6.4 RNA editing in trypanosomatid mitochondria–7. Why RNA?