Hairpin ribozyme mediated RNA recombination

We have engineered a hairpin ribozyme that in a two-step reaction supports RNA recombination by catalysing the cleavage of two non-functional RNA precursors (first step) followed by the recombination of two of the cleavage fragments into a functional RNA (second step). The recombination product (yield: 76%) is a fully functional hammerhead ribozyme.