RNA-cleaving 10-23 deoxyribozyme with a single amino acid-like functionality operates without metal ion cofactorsThis article is part of a themed issue on Biophosphates

• Main Authors: Smuga, Damian, Majchrzak, Kinga, Sochacka, Elzbieta, Nawrot, Barbara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1144-0546; 1369-9261
• DOI: 10.1039/b9nj00705a

A series of 10-23 deoxyribozymes ( D2-D9 ) containing single amino-acid-bearing nucleosides (thr 6 dA, hisam 6 dA, hisam 5 dU and ncmnm 5 dU) at positions 4, 5, 8 or 15 of the catalytic core was obtained by chemical synthesis. The deoxyribozymes were screened for their catalytic efficiency, and in the presence of 1 mM Mg 2+ two of them, containing at position 8 either hisam 5 dU ( D8 ) or ncmnm 5 dU ( D9 ), were found to be RNA nucleases several times more active than their non-modified precursor. Moreover, in the magnesium-free TRIS or PIPES buffers, these enzymes were able to catalyze the cleavage of the phosphodiester bond located between the 5′-GpU-3′ sequence of the complementary RNA substrate. The cleavage reaction proceeded with the highest efficiency at pH > 7. We identified protein-like modified deoxyribozymes 10-23, which in the presence of Mg 2+ ions are more active than their parent precursor and can operate in a magnesium-free systems.