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Examination of Kink‐Turn and Related Motifs
Author(s) -
Garoutte Travis Justin,
Grover Neena
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.25.1_supplement.903.2
Subject(s) - magnesium , chemistry , divalent , crystallography , ion , metal ions in aqueous solution , calcium , nucleotide , rna , strontium , stereochemistry , biochemistry , organic chemistry , gene
The kink‐turn motif is a secondary structural element found in many different RNA. It is an important protein recognition element that interacts with magnesium ions to form a bent (“kinked”) structure. It is comprised of a trinucleotide bulge, RNN (R = purine; N = any nucleotide), flanked by both a canonical and non‐canonical stem. The canonical stem is closed by two G‐C base pairs and the non‐canonical stem by two mismatched G•A base pairs. We are examining the thermodynamic properties of constructs displaying this motif in 1 M KCl and in varying concentrations of divalent metal ions. Two of the examined constructs display greater stability in the presence of calcium ions than in the presence of magnesium ions. In contrast, other constructs tested display an increased stability in the presence of magnesium ions than in the presence of calcium ions. Further examination of the kink‐turn motif is necessary in understanding the molecular interactions between RNA and divalent metal ions.