Practice question

RNase P is classical example of ribozyme, catalytic RNA discovered by Sidney Altman. Bacterial holoenzyme includes M1 RNA of about 377 nucleotides in E. coli with catalytic activity and C5 protein cofactor enhancing substrate affinity. Archaeal and eukaryotic nuclear RNase P contain homologous RNA plus up to ten proteins, but RNA remains catalytic core capable of site-specific hydrolysis in vitro without protein at high salt. It uses two Mg2+ ions for transition state stabilization, cleaving phosphodiester bonds, demonstrating that RNA can act as true multiple-turnover enzyme, earning Nobel Prize 1989.