DNA enzymes

Biological catalysis is dominated by enzymes that are made of protein, but several distinct classes of catalytic RNAs are known to promote chemical transformations that are fundamental to cellular metabolism. Is biological catalysis limited only to these two biopolymers, or is DNA also capable of fu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inNature biotechnology Vol. 15; no. 5; pp. 427 - 431
Main Author BREAKER, R. R
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, NY Nature 01.05.1997
Subjects
Base Sequence
Biological and medical sciences
Biotechnology
Catalysis
DNA - chemistry
DNA - metabolism
DNA Replication
Enzyme engineering
Enzymes - metabolism
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetic Engineering - methods
Genome
Methods. Procedures. Technologies
Miscellaneous
Molecular Sequence Data
Nucleic Acid Conformation
RNA, Catalytic - metabolism
Performance evaluation
deoxyribozyme
Enzymatic activity
Structure activity relation
DNA
Review
Mechanism of action
Biocatalyst
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Biological catalysis is dominated by enzymes that are made of protein, but several distinct classes of catalytic RNAs are known to promote chemical transformations that are fundamental to cellular metabolism. Is biological catalysis limited only to these two biopolymers, or is DNA also capable of functioning as an enzyme in nature? To date, no DNA enzymes of natural origin have been found. However, an increasing number of catalytic DNAs, with characteristics that are similar to those of ribozymes, are being produced outside the confines of the cell. An assessment of the potential for structure formation by DNA leads to the conclusion that DNA might have considerable latent potential for enzymatic function.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
ObjectType-Review-3
content type line 23
ObjectType-Feature-3
ObjectType-Review-1
ISSN:1087-0156
1546-1696
DOI:10.1038/nbt0597-427