Group II introns: elaborate ribozymes

Abstract

Group II introns are found in organelle genomes of plants, fungi and algae as well as in some bacteria. Some group II introns have been shown to self-splice in vitro and thus constitute examples of ribozymes. Their splicing pathway is analogous to the splicing pathway of nuclear pre-mRNA introns. They thus constitute simple models to analyze RNA catalysis of this type of splicing reactions. In this review article, I will summarize our current state of understanding of the ribozyme activity of group II introns and show that their large size correlates with their ability to perform complex tasks. After discussing the similarities found between group II and nuclear pre-mRNA introns, I will briefly evoke how the ribozyme activity of group II introns might be involved in their transposition at the DNA level.