Pistol ribozyme

The pistol ribozyme is an RNA structure that catalyzes its own cleavage at a specific site. In other words, it is a self-cleaving ribozyme. The pistol ribozyme was discovered by a bioinformatics strategy as an RNA Associated with Genes Associated with Twister and Hammerhead ribozymes, or RAGATH.

Subsequent biochemical analysis supports the conclusion of a ribozyme function, and determined further characteristics of the chemical reaction catalyzed by the ribozyme. This understanding was further advanced by an atomic-resolution structured of a pistol ribozyme