The Leptomonas collosoma spliced leader RNA can switch between two alternate structural forms. 1993

K A LeCuyer, and D M Crothers
Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511.

We have used a combination of physical and molecular biological techniques to examine the structure of Leptomonas collosoma spliced leader RNA. We confirm the general features of the previously proposed structure for the 3' half of the RNA, in which a single-stranded region is flanked by two stem loops. However, we find that the 5' half of the RNA, which contains the splice site, has two competing secondary structures which differ only slightly in stability and which can interconvert on a fast (<1 s) time scale. In the favored conformation, a stable hairpin helix is augmented by conserved complementarity between the splice site and the 5' end of the SL RNA. This putative helix has anomalous nuclease sensitivity and thermal stability features, suggesting that it is probably coupled by unknown tertiary interactions to other nucleotides in the 5' half-molecule. The structure offers intriguing parallels with RNA-RNA interactions in the mammalian splicing system.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008969 Molecular Sequence Data Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories. Sequence Data, Molecular,Molecular Sequencing Data,Data, Molecular Sequence,Data, Molecular Sequencing,Sequencing Data, Molecular
D009690 Nucleic Acid Conformation The spatial arrangement of the atoms of a nucleic acid or polynucleotide that results in its characteristic 3-dimensional shape. DNA Conformation,RNA Conformation,Conformation, DNA,Conformation, Nucleic Acid,Conformation, RNA,Conformations, DNA,Conformations, Nucleic Acid,Conformations, RNA,DNA Conformations,Nucleic Acid Conformations,RNA Conformations
D009693 Nucleic Acid Hybridization Widely used technique which exploits the ability of complementary sequences in single-stranded DNAs or RNAs to pair with each other to form a double helix. Hybridization can take place between two complimentary DNA sequences, between a single-stranded DNA and a complementary RNA, or between two RNA sequences. The technique is used to detect and isolate specific sequences, measure homology, or define other characteristics of one or both strands. (Kendrew, Encyclopedia of Molecular Biology, 1994, p503) Genomic Hybridization,Acid Hybridization, Nucleic,Acid Hybridizations, Nucleic,Genomic Hybridizations,Hybridization, Genomic,Hybridization, Nucleic Acid,Hybridizations, Genomic,Hybridizations, Nucleic Acid,Nucleic Acid Hybridizations
D006358 Hot Temperature Presence of warmth or heat or a temperature notably higher than an accustomed norm. Heat,Hot Temperatures,Temperature, Hot,Temperatures, Hot
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001482 Base Composition The relative amounts of the PURINES and PYRIMIDINES in a nucleic acid. Base Ratio,G+C Composition,Guanine + Cytosine Composition,G+C Content,GC Composition,GC Content,Guanine + Cytosine Content,Base Compositions,Base Ratios,Composition, Base,Composition, G+C,Composition, GC,Compositions, Base,Compositions, G+C,Compositions, GC,Content, G+C,Content, GC,Contents, G+C,Contents, GC,G+C Compositions,G+C Contents,GC Compositions,GC Contents,Ratio, Base,Ratios, Base
D001483 Base Sequence The sequence of PURINES and PYRIMIDINES in nucleic acids and polynucleotides. It is also called nucleotide sequence. DNA Sequence,Nucleotide Sequence,RNA Sequence,DNA Sequences,Base Sequences,Nucleotide Sequences,RNA Sequences,Sequence, Base,Sequence, DNA,Sequence, Nucleotide,Sequence, RNA,Sequences, Base,Sequences, DNA,Sequences, Nucleotide,Sequences, RNA
D001665 Binding Sites The parts of a macromolecule that directly participate in its specific combination with another molecule. Combining Site,Binding Site,Combining Sites,Site, Binding,Site, Combining,Sites, Binding,Sites, Combining
D012260 Ribonucleases Enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of ester bonds within RNA. EC 3.1.-. Nucleases, RNA,RNase,Acid Ribonuclease,Alkaline Ribonuclease,Ribonuclease,RNA Nucleases,Ribonuclease, Acid,Ribonuclease, Alkaline
D012326 RNA Splicing The ultimate exclusion of nonsense sequences or intervening sequences (introns) before the final RNA transcript is sent to the cytoplasm. RNA, Messenger, Splicing,Splicing, RNA,RNA Splicings,Splicings, RNA

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