A helical twist-induced conformational switch activates cleavage in the hammerhead ribozyme.
Dunham, C.M., Murray, J.B., Scott, W.G.(2003) J Mol Biol 332: 327-336
- PubMed: 12948485 
- DOI: 10.1016/s0022-2836(03)00843-x
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1NYI, 1Q29 - PubMed Abstract: 
We have captured the structure of a pre-catalytic conformational intermediate of the hammerhead ribozyme using a phosphodiester tether formed between I and Stem II. This phosphodiester tether appears to mimic interactions in the wild-type hammerhead RNA that enable switching between nuclease and ligase activities, both of which are required in the replicative cycles of the satellite RNA viruses from which the hammerhead ribozyme is derived ...