Resurrecting an ancestral protein as a novel tool to study RNA biology
Or iginally published by Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology on December 2, 2024 Methylation activity of M.EcoGII variants in HEK293T cells. Credit: Nucleic Acids Research (2024). DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae887 By deducing the possible ancient forms of a bacterial enzyme, OIST scientists have resurrected one of its ancestral versions, with a comparably higher ability to chemically modify RNA. In the Protein Engineering and Evolution Uni t's latest publication in Nucleic Acids Research , the team presents an engineered RNA methyltransferase, which can be used t o study the role of RNA modifications in cells . With RNA modifications affecting stability , promoting translatio n, and influencing its location w ithin the cell, such modifications play an important role in the cell's health and in diseases. Read more