Nucleic Acids Research” (2003) Vol. 31 No. 7, p. 1921-1934.

In “Molecular recognition properties of IGS-mediated reactions catalyzed by a Pneumocystis carinii group I intron,” Stephen Testa and his colleagues desired to understand how new enzymes could be modified to bind genetic mutations. They did this by developing a new method to simultaneously analyze thousands of molecules for binding activity. To find the answers, Testa and his fellow authors utilized one ribonucleic acid  (RNA) enzyme in particular, a group I intron, and then redesigned it to catalyze new activities. 

Their goal was to produce molecules that could repair genetic mutations in a cell. The article states that the team developed a combinatorial assay -- running thousands of “reactions” at the same time in the same container -- to try to understand how the new RNA enzymes could be modified to bind to specific site on mutated genetic material. From their experiment, the authors developed a set of rules to apply toward any new RNA catalyst. 

Stephen Testa is an associate professor of chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky. His education includes a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston, a doctorate from Purdue University, and post-doctorate work at the University of Rochester. His research interests comprise developing new enzymes (RNA enzymes) that can modify genetic material (at this point only RNA, not DNA) inside of a cell. This has many uses, especially the repair of genetic mutations that cause diseases such as cancer and Muscular Dystrophy.