The crystal structure of a 26-nucleotide RNA containing a hook-turn
Abstract
A crystal structure has been obtained for a 26-nucleotide RNA that contains the loop E sequence from Chromatium minutissimum. Rather than having a loop E-like conformation, it consists of an A-form helix that splits into two separate strands following a sheared A–G base pair. The backbone of the strand containing the G of the A–G pair makes a turn of almost 180° in the space of two nucleotides, and then interacts with the minor groove of the helix from which it originates. Similar structures, which we call hook-turns, occur in 16S and 23S rRNAs. They are found at places where the two strands of a helix separate at an A/G juxtaposition to interact with other sequences.
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Footnotes
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Article and publication are at http://www.rnajournal.org/cgi/doi/10.1261/rna.2107303.
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- Accepted September 30, 2002.
- Received July 26, 2002.
- Copyright 2003 by RNA Society