RNAs and ribonucleoproteins in recognition and catalysis

CONTENTS. 1. Did life begin with catalytic RNA? – 2. Self‐splicing and self‐cleaving RNAs – 2.1 Self‐splicing of group I introns – 2.2 Self‐splicing of group II introns – 2.3 Self‐cleaving RNAs – 3. Splicing mediated by trans‐acting factors – 3.1 Group III introns – 3.2 Splicing of nuclear pre‐mRNAs – 3.3 Trans‐ splicing – 3.4 Is nuclear pre‐mRNA splicing evolutionarily related to group I and group II self‐splicing?– 3.5 Non‐RNA mediated splicing of tRNAs – 4. Processing of ribosomal precursor RNAs – 5. Processing of pre‐mRNA 3′ ends – 5.1 Polyadenylation – 5.2 Histone pre‐mRNA 3′ processing – 6. Other RNPs involved in metabolic mechanisms – 6.1 5′ end processing of pre‐tRNAs by RNase P – 6.2 The signal recognition particle – 6.3 Telomerase – 6.4 RNA editing in trypanosomatid mitochondria – 7. Why RNA?