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Recognition of the 5' splice site by group II introns involves pairing between an exon binding sequence (EBS) 1 within the ID3 stem-loop of domain 1 and a complementary sequence at the 3' end of exon 1 (IBS1). To identify the molecular basis for splice site definition of a group IIB ai5γ intron, we probed the solution structure of the ID3 stem-loop...
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... stem adopts a defined A-form structure comprising five Watson-Crick base pairs and a closing G18•U6 wobble pair (Fig. 4). The base of A7 stacks onto the base of the U6 residue. The A17 base intercalates between the U6 and A7 bases. U8 and U9 bases are also stacked facing the interior of the loop. The Watson-Crick face of A17 is within hydrogen-bonding distance to both U8 and U9 and is nearly coplanar with the base U8 residue. In contrast, the bases of ...
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A crucial step of the self-splicing reaction of group II intron ribozymes is the recognition of the 5' exon by the intron. This recognition is achieved by two regions in domain 1 of the intron, the exon-binding sites EBS1 and EBS2 forming base pairs with the intron-binding sites IBS1 and IBS2 located at the end of the 5' exon. The complementarity o...
More than two decades of investigating nucleic acids and ribonucleic acids (RNA) using single molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) have passed. It turned out that sample heterogeneity in structure and function of RNA molecules as well as folding intermediates, kinetic subpopulations, and interconversion rates of conformational states...
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... The CD spectrum of the aptamer at pH 7 and 20°C evidenced an intense positive band at 266 nm, a weak broad negative one centred at 238 nm, a narrow negative band at 211 nm, and a very small minimum at ca. 300 nm ( Figure 6B, black line, and Figure 6C), all indicative features of mainly A-form RNA helix (Kerwin, 2000). The absence in the aptamer CD profile of a 280 nm shoulder evidenced the low content of single-stranded or unstructured regions (Popovic and Greenbaum, 2014), indicating that loops are mainly all structured. Notably, only small differences in the CD profile of the aptamer were revealed at pH 5 and 9 with respect to pH 7, essentially evidencing the same overall conformation adopted at neutral pH also in acidic and basic conditions ( Figure 6B, red and Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences frontiersin.org ...
Hypoxia plays a crucial role in tumorigenesis and drug resistance, and it is recognised as a major factor affecting patient clinical outcome. Therefore, the detection of hypoxic areas within the tumour micro-environment represents a useful way to monitor tumour growth and patients’ responses to treatments, properly guiding the choice of the most suitable therapy. To date, non-invasive hypoxia imaging probes have been identified, but their applicability in vivo is strongly limited due to an inadequate resistance to the low oxygen concentration and the acidic pH of the tumour micro-environment. In this regard, nucleic acid aptamers represent very powerful tools thanks to their peculiar features, including high stability to harsh conditions and a small size, resulting in easy and efficient tumour penetration. Here, we describe a modified cell-SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment) approach that allows the isolation of specific RNA aptamers for the detection of the hypoxic phenotype in breast cancer (BC) cells. We demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method in isolating highly stable aptamers with an improved and specific binding to hypoxic cells. To our knowledge, this is the first example of a cell-SELEX approach properly designed and modified to select RNA aptamers against hypoxia-related epitopes expressed on tumour cell surfaces. The selected aptamers may provide new effective tools for targeting hypoxic areas within the tumour with great clinical potential.
... Although NMR spectroscopy has historically been used to determine structures of relatively small RNAs that typically comprise fewer than 60 nucleotides [67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75], the above studies have shown that structures can be probed by NMR spectroscopy in RNAs comprising up to 688 nucleotides. When used in combination with cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) or small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), 3D structural information can be obtained for relatively large protein:RNA complexes [68,69]. ...
The 5′-leader of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) genome plays several critical roles during viral replication, including differentially establishing mRNA versus genomic RNA (gRNA) fates. As observed for proteins, the function of the RNA is tightly regulated by its structure, and a common paradigm has been that genome function is temporally modulated by structural changes in the 5′-leader. Over the past 30 years, combinations of nucleotide reactivity mapping experiments with biochemistry, mutagenesis, and phylogenetic studies have provided clues regarding the secondary structures of stretches of residues within the leader that adopt functionally discrete domains. More recently, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy approaches have been developed that enable direct detection of intra- and inter-molecular interactions within the intact leader, providing detailed insights into the structural determinants and mechanisms that regulate HIV-1 genome packaging and function.
... A truncated ribozyme sequence containing only the proposed three-way junction retains catalytic activity (Supplementary Figure S7) supporting the functional significance of the three-way junction. The single stranded sequence within this three-way junction (3WJ-AGUAN) has sequence complementarity to the sequence within the conserved stemloop, potentially forming a pseudoknot (Figure 4) in which the extent of pairing is demarcated by the helical constraints of pairing in the context of a stem loop (47). Several potential AC and GA pairs are present within this motif (Supplementary Figure S6). ...
In vitro evolution experiments have long been used to evaluate the roles of RNA in both modern and ancient biology, and as a tool for biotechnology applications. The conditions under which these experiments have been conducted, however, do not reflect the range of cellular environments in modern biology or our understanding of chemical environments on the early earth, when the atmosphere and oceans were largely anoxic and soluble Fe(2+) was abundant. To test the impact of environmental factors relevant to RNA's potential role in the earliest forms of life, we evolved populations of self-cleaving ribozymes in an anoxic atmosphere with varying pH in the presence of either Fe(2+) or Mg(2+). Populations evolved under these different conditions are dominated by different sequences and secondary structures, demonstrating global differences in the underlying fitness landscapes. Comparisons between evolutionary outcomes and catalytic activities also indicate that Mg(2+) can readily take the place of Fe(2+) in supporting the catalysis of RNA cleavage at neutral pH, but not at lower pH. These results highlight the importance of considering the specific environments in which functional biopolymers evolve when evaluating their potential roles in the origin of life, extant biology, or biotechnology.
Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research 2015. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.
The self-splicing group II introns are bacterial and organellar ancestors of the nuclear spliceosome and retro-transposable elements of pharmacological and biotechnological importance. Integrating enzymatic, crystallographic, and simulation studies, we demonstrate how these introns recognize small molecules through their conserved active site. These RNA-binding small molecules selectively inhibit the two steps of splicing by adopting distinctive poses at different stages of catalysis, and by preventing crucial active site conformational changes that are essential for splicing progression. Our data exemplify the enormous power of RNA binders to mechanistically probe vital cellular pathways. Most importantly, by proving that the evolutionarily-conserved RNA core of splicing machines can recognize small molecules specifically, our work provides a solid basis for the rational design of splicing modulators not only against bacterial and organellar introns, but also against the human spliceosome, which is a validated drug target for the treatment of congenital diseases and cancers.
The Drosophila melanogaster protein Glorund (Glo) represses nanos (nos) translation and uses its quasi-RNA recognition motifs (qRRMs) to recognize both G-tract and structured UA-rich motifs within the nos translational control element (TCE). We showed previously that each of the three qRRMs is multifunctional, capable of binding to G-tract and UA-rich motifs, yet if and how the qRRMs combine to recognize the nos TCE remained unclear. Here we determined solution structures of a nos TCEI_III RNA containing the G-tract and UA-rich motifs. The RNA structure demonstrated that a single qRRM is physically incapable of recognizing both RNA elements simultaneously. In vivo experiments further indicated that any two qRRMs are sufficient to repress nos translation. We probed interactions of Glo qRRMs with TCEI_III RNA using NMR paramagnetic relaxation experiments. Our in vitro and in vivo data support a model whereby tandem Glo qRRMs are indeed multifunctional and interchangeable for recognition of TCE G-tract or UA-rich motifs. This study illustrates how multiple RNA recognition modules within an RNA-binding protein may combine to diversify the RNAs that are recognized and regulated.
The presumptive RNA cloverleaf at the start of the 5´-untranslated region of the picornavirus genome is an essential element in replication. Stem loop B (SLB) of the cloverleaf is a recognition site for the host polyC-binding protein, which initiates a switch from translation to replication. Here we present the solution structure of human rhinovirus isotype 14 SLB using NMR spectroscopy. SLB adopts a predominantly A-form helical structure. The stem contains five Watson-Crick base pairs and one wobble base pair, and is capped by an eight nucleotide loop. The wobble base pair introduces perturbations in the helical parameters, but does not appear to introduce flexibility. However, the helix major groove appears to be accessible. Flexibility is seen throughout the loop and in the terminal nucleotides. The pyrimidine-rich region of the loop, the apparent recognition site for the polyC-binding protein, is the most disordered region of the structure.
We propose a mechanism that there are matching relations between mRNA sequences and corresponding post-spliced introns, and introns play a significant role in the process of gene expression. In order to reveal the sequence matching features, Smith-Waterman local alignment method is used on C. elegans mRNA sequences to obtain optimal matched segments between exon-exon sequences and their corresponding introns. Distribution characters of matching frequency on exon-exon sequences and sequence characters of optimal matched segments are studied. Results show that distributions of matching frequency on exon-exon junction region have obvious differences, and the exon boundary is revealed. Distributions of the length and matching rate of optimal matched segments are consistent with sequence features of siRNA and miRNA. The optimal matched segments have special sequence characters compared with their host sequences. As for the first introns and long introns, matching frequency values of optimal matched segments with high GC content, rich CG dinucleotides and high λCG values show the minimum distribution in exon junction complex (EJC) binding region. High λCG values in optimal matched segments are main characters in distinguishing EJC binding region. Results indicate that EJC and introns have competitive and cooperative relations in the process of combining on protein coding sequences. Also intron sequences and protein coding sequences do have concerted evolution relations.
