The Progress on Plant Ribosome-Inactivating Proteins

The plant ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) are RNA N-glycosidase that depurinate the largest ribosomal RNA, thus damaging ribosomes, and arresting protein synthesis. They can be divided into two groups according to their primary structure: single-peptide chain proteins, type I RIP; and tow-peptide chain proteins, type II RIP. Recently, it has been found that RIPs are a kind of polynuclentide: adenosine glycosidases, which further accounts for their biological functions as defense proteins. With the cofactors for RIPs and other related proteins being found, the interaction between RIPs and ribosomes is further understood.