Polynucleotide Phosphorylase (PNPase) is a bifunctional

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

with a phosphorolytic 3' to 5'

exoribonuclease An exoribonuclease is an exonuclease ribonuclease, which are enzymes that degrade RNA by removing terminal nucleotides from either the 5' end or the 3' end of the RNA molecule. Enzymes that remove nucleotides from the 5' end are called ''5'-3 ...

activity and a 3'-terminal

oligonucleotide Oligonucleotides are short DNA or RNA molecules, oligomers, that have a wide range of applications in genetic testing, Recombinant DNA, research, and Forensic DNA, forensics. Commonly made in the laboratory by Oligonucleotide synthesis, solid-phase ...

polymerase In biochemistry, a polymerase is an enzyme (Enzyme Commission number, EC 2.7.7.6/7/19/48/49) that synthesizes long chains of polymers or nucleic acids. DNA polymerase and RNA polymerase are used to assemble DNA and RNA molecules, respectively, by ...

activity. That is, it dismantles the RNA chain starting at the 3' end and working toward the 5' end. It also synthesizes long, highly heteropolymeric tails ''in vivo''. It accounts for all of the observed residual

polyadenylation Polyadenylation is the addition of a poly(A) tail to an RNA transcript, typically a messenger RNA (mRNA). The poly(A) tail consists of multiple adenosine monophosphates; in other words, it is a stretch of RNA that has only adenine bases. In euka ...

in strains of ''Escherichia coli'' missing the normal polyadenylation enzyme. Discovered by

Marianne Grunberg-Manago Marianne Grunberg-Manago (January 6, 1921 – January 3, 2013) was a Soviet-born French biochemist. Her work helped make possible key discoveries about the nature of the genetic code. Grunberg-Manago was the first woman to lead the International ...

working in

Severo Ochoa Severo Ochoa de Albornoz (; 24 September 1905 – 1 November 1993) was a Spanish physician and biochemist, and winner of the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine together with Arthur Kornberg for their discovery of "the mechanisms in the ...

's lab in 1955, the RNA-polymerization activity of PNPase was initially believed to be responsible for DNA-dependent synthesis of messenger RNA, a notion that was disproven by the late 1950s. It is involved in mRNA processing and degradation in bacteria, plants, and animals. In humans, the enzyme is encoded by the gene. In its active form, the protein forms a ring structure consisting of three PNPase molecules. Each PNPase molecule consists of two

RNase PH RNase PH is a tRNA nucleotidyltransferase, present in archaea and bacteria, that is involved in tRNA processing. Contrary to hydrolytic enzymes, it is a phosphorolytic enzyme, meaning that it uses inorganic phosphate as a reactant to cleave nuc ...

domains, an S1 RNA binding domain and a K-homology domain. The protein is present in

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

and in the

chloroplasts A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle, organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant cell, plant and algae, algal cells. Chloroplasts have a high concentration of chlorophyll pigments which captur ...

and

mitochondria A mitochondrion () is an organelle found in the cells of most eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is us ...

of some

eukaryotic The eukaryotes ( ) constitute the Domain (biology), domain of Eukaryota or Eukarya, organisms whose Cell (biology), cells have a membrane-bound cell nucleus, nucleus. All animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, seaweeds, and many unicellular organisms ...

cells. In eukaryotes and

archaea Archaea ( ) is a Domain (biology), domain of organisms. Traditionally, Archaea only included its Prokaryote, prokaryotic members, but this has since been found to be paraphyletic, as eukaryotes are known to have evolved from archaea. Even thou ...

, a structurally and evolutionary related complex exists, called the ''

exosome complex The exosome complex (or PM/Scl complex, often just called the exosome) is a multi-protein intracellular complex capable of degrading various types of RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecules. Exosome complexes are found in both eukaryotic cells and ar ...

''. The same abbreviation (''PNPase'') is also used for another, otherwise unrelated enzyme,

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase Purine nucleoside phosphorylase, PNP, PNPase or inosine phosphorylase () is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''NP'' gene. It catalyzes the chemical reaction :purine nucleoside + phosphate \rightleftharpoons purine + alpha-D-ribose 1-p ...

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Biology, border=no Ribonucleases EC 2.7.7 Genes mutated in mice 1955 in biology