Minimale RNA-freie RNase P in einem hyperthermophilen Bakterium

The essential tRNA processing enzyme RNase P consists of a catalytic RNA and a small protein in most Bacteria. An RNA was also identified in archaeal and many eukaryal nuclear RNases P, with five protein cofactors in Archaea and nine or ten in Eukarya. Yet, more recently, the second RNase P in human cells, acting in mitochondria, was found to lack an RNA; this type of protein-only RNase P is also wide-spread among euka - ryotes. Moreover, we recently discovered a novel RNA-free RNase P in the hyperthermophilic bacterium Aquifex aeolicus, consisting of a single polypeptide of 23 kilodaltons.