中国生物工程杂志

Targeting rRNA of bacteria is a new strategy for antibiotic agent development. The rRNA such as mRNA are naturally self-folded molecules which expose only limited accessible target-sites for binding. These accessible sites are pivotal for designing the effective antisense oligonucleotides, ribozymes, and DNAzymes. MAST, an RNA accessible site screening method, illustrated 6 accessible sites on 16S rRNA by immobilizing 16S rRNA and hybridizing with oligonucleotide library. 5 of the accessible sites were identified valid, and the antisense oligonucleotides targeted to which showed inhibition effectiveness on the proliferation. Among the 5 target sites, one showed the priority of accessibility. Ribozyme designed to this site showed obvious inhibition to the growth when induced expressing in the transfection E. coli.