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The structures of polyinosinic acid

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Summary

Polyinosinic acid [poly(I)] was studied by a variety of techniques and together with the results in the literature the following structures are proposed.

  1. 1.

    CD spectra of poly(I) as a function of ionic strength, temperature andpH show the existence of three main forms. At neutral pH and low ionic strength (below 0.1 M NaCl) at 3 °C or 20 °C poly(I) is a single-stranded poorly stacked helix. At 3 °C above 0.6 M NaCl poly(I) forms a multi-stranded (probably four-stranded) parallel left-handed helix. At 20 °C this structure is not completely formed. Between these extremes of ionic strength mixtures of the two forms are present which evolve differently with time, depending on ionic strength and temperature.

  2. 2.

    The acid titration of poly(I) shows three regions as a function of ionic strength, following the same pattern as the CD spectra. The ionic strength dependence of thepK. (∼1.5) above 0.6 M NaCl suggests, but does not prove that N7 of the hypoxanthines may be implicated in the hydrogen-bonding scheme. Similarly, at high ionic strength methylation on N7 is greatly reduced in rate and extent.

  3. 3.

    It is shown that the X-ray fiber pattern of Rich could be interpreted by a fourstranded helix withM=23/2 using a hydrogen bond between N1 and N7 between neighbouring bases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Service de Biochimie, Département de Biologie, Centre d'Etudes Nucléaires de Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

    Danielle Thiele & Wilhelm Guschlbauer

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  1. Danielle Thiele
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  2. Wilhelm Guschlbauer
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To the memory of Prof. Dr. Margarethe Janke (Wien) (1897 to 1972).

Ce travail fera partie de la Thèse de Doctorat-ès-sciences naturelles (Université Paris-Sud, Centre d'Orsay) de Danielle Thiele.

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Thiele, D., Guschlbauer, W. The structures of polyinosinic acid. Biophysik 9, 261–277 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01184691

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