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Come explore the fascinating world of cellular RNA Molecules with Mount Holyoke College Biochemistry 330 students.

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RNA modification is “sno” problem for snoRNAs

Posted by Oliver Stockert            Today I am going to tell you about one of my favorite classes of RNAs. They are called small nucleolar RNAs (or snoRNAs). SnoRNAs are short, noncoding, and abundant in the nucleoli of eukaryotic organisms.  They have important roles within cells by associating with proteins, finding a specific mRNA, and modifying the mRNA with the help of the associated protein. There are two main types of snoRNAs that each have their own structure, function, and purpose. The two types are H/ACA box and C/D box snoRNAs. You may have heard of  sequence “boxes” in regards to proteins or RNA before; it just means a section of the sequence is genetically conserved to make snoRNAs function and bind with a high level of specificity. Figure 1 outlines the H/ACA boxes and the C/D boxes on each type of snoRNA. The boxes represent an important parts of the sequences that all C/D box or H/ACA box snoRNAs contain that helps them...
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The GlmS Riboswitch: A very unique addition to the catalytic RNA family!

The GlmS   Riboswitch: A very unique addition to the catalytic RNA family! Figure 1. Riboswitch folding! (People in White Coats) We have all heard at some point that our genetic information is encoded in our DNA. Perhaps you have also heard that RNA is transcribed from DNA, and that proteins are synthesized from the information carried by RNA. This is known as the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology. From the Central Dogma, one would think that RNA only serves as a messenger, relaying instructions from DNA to protein, but that is not the case! RNA molecules are capable of participating in a wide array of reactions! They can even perform catalysis—previously thought to be exclusively performed by proteins. These catalytic RNA molecules have been dubbed “ribozymes.” Another interesting set of RNA molecules are the riboswitches. Riboswitches regulate gene expression. They are found in the sequence immediately prior to the gene that they regulated, and, ...
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The RNase (P) for everyone

Ribonuclease P, or RNase P for short, is a catalytic RNA found in nearly every organism on earth (Fig 1). Discovered in 1978 by Stark, Kole, Bowman, and Altman, RNase P was the second type of ribozyme, an RNA that does the work of a protein, discovered, and the first to act exclusively on sequences not part of the same molecule as itself (1). While it was initially thought that both the RNA (called P RNA) and associated protein were necessary, further studies showed that the RNA alone has catalytic activity, making huge waves in the enzyme world (2). Figure 1 . RNAase P RNA structure across all domains of life and hypothesized "RNA world" with associated proteins. Adapted from Walker et al. 2008 P RNA folds into multiple helices and loops (Fig 2A) that connect with each other through base pairing (A-U and C-G) like in DNA and base stacking where the rings in each base stack and stick on top of each other to form a very stable structure (Fig 2B). Across all domains of ...
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