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Glite Dictionary
ribozyme

ribozyme

1 9.6
A molecule of RNA that helps chemical reactions happen in a cell
  • noun
  • /ˈraɪboʊzaɪm/
  • Specialized
: ribozima
  • Changes here might be called fatal mutations, destroying ribozyme function.
  • ribozyme function
  • wild-type ribozyme

So the the ribosome is a ribozyme.

Examples

  • But could the ribozyme perform a completely new trick, one apparently against its nature?

    Academic text (1993)

  • If an RNA enzyme, or ribozyme, can split another RNA, what else can it do?

    Academic text (1993)

  • One of these was present in 100% of the successful ribozymes.

    Academic text (1993)

  • By generation 10, the population as a whole cleaved DNA 30 times better than the wild-type ribozyme.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Beaudry and Joyce asked if the Tetrahymena ribozyme could cut DNA instead of its usual RNA.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The Scripps researchers removed all traces of magnesium and manganese, two metals normally required for any ribozyme function.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The ribozymes then spontaneously formed cooperative catalytic cycles and more complicated versions, called autocatalytic networks.

    Academic text (2013)

  • When the Tetrahymena ribozyme cuts a nucleic acid, it retains a bit of the target molecule, and that bit serves as a tag, identifying successful ribozymes.

    Academic text (1993)

  • After the discovery of RNA's autocatalytic abilities in 1981, chemists learned that they could evolve catalytic RNAs, called ribozymes, in the laboratory.

    Academic text (2013)

  • The ribozyme catalyzes chemical reactions by facilitating the cleavage of RNA molecules.

Surface Forms

ribozyme singular
ribozymes plural

Morphology

ribozyme = enzyme (semi-transparent) = ribo + zyme

Formed by the combining form 'ribo-' (referring to RNA) attached to the element evoking 'enzyme' (enzyme → -zyme); the composition is clear for those with biological knowledge but uses technical combining forms unfamiliar to general learners.

Etymology

Ribozyme comes from ribo-, meaning 'RNA' the molecule in cells, and -zyme, the same part you see in enzyme, meaning 'a molecule that speeds up chemical reactions'. So a ribozyme is an RNA that works like an enzyme and helps chemical reactions happen faster in cells.