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. 1997 Feb 1;25(3):648–653. doi: 10.1093/nar/25.3.648

Metal ion interaction with cosubstrate in self-splicing of group I introns.

A S Sjögren 1, E Pettersson 1, B M Sjöberg 1, R Strömberg 1
PMCID: PMC146470  PMID: 9016608

Abstract

The catalytic mechanism for self-splicing of the group I intron in the pre-mRNA from the nrdB gene in bacteriophage T4 has been investigated using 2'-amino- 2'-deoxyguanosine or guanosine as cosubstrates in the presence of Mg2+, Mn2+and Zn2+. The results show that a divalent metal ion interacts with the cosubstrate and thereby influences the efficiency of catalysis in the first step of splicing. This suggests the existence of a metal ion that catalyses the nucleophilic attack of the cosubstrate. Of particular significance is that the transesterification reactions of the first step of splicing with 2'-amino-2'-deoxyguanosine as cosubstrate are more efficient in mixtures containing either Mn2+or Zn2+together with Mg2+than with only magnesium ions present. The experiments in metal ion mixtures show that two (or more) metal ions are crucial for the self-splicing of group I introns and suggest the possibility that more than one of these have a direct catalytic role. A working model for a two-metal-ion mechanism in the transesterification steps is suggested.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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