ribozyme
Quick Summary
A ribozyme is a molecule of RNA that functions as an enzyme. These RNA molecules can catalyze biochemical reactions, such as the cleavage of other RNA molecules.1
The discovery of ribozymes by Thomas Cech and Sidney Altman in 1989 revealed that not all cellular catalysis is performed by proteins. Cech demonstrated that certain RNA sequences could remove themselves from a larger precursor RNA molecule through an autocatalytic reaction. Altman showed that the RNA component of a complex called ribonuclease P could process precursor tRNA.2
It is hypothesized that early in evolution, RNA served as both the carrier of genetic information and the primary catalyst for biochemical reactions, a period sometimes referred to as the "RNA world".2
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