The ionic environment determines ribozyme cleavage rate by modulation of nucleobase pKa

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FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 2.

Cleavage of RG in Li+ or Na+ but not K+ exhibits a kinetic solvent isotope consistent with rate-limiting proton transfer in a general acid–base catalyzed reaction. Cleavage reactions were performed and analyzed as described in Materials and Methods using (A) 2.5 M LiCl, (B) 2.5 M NaCl, or (C) 2.5 M KCl. “pL” refers to pH (for reactions in H2O; closed symbols) or pD (for reactions in D2O; open symbols).

This Article

  1. Published in Advance August 12, 2008, doi: 10.1261/rna.1102308 RNA 14: 1942-1949

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