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The X-ray Structures of Six Octameric RNA Duplexes in the Presence of Different Di- and Trivalent Cations

Type of publication Peer-reviewed
Publikationsform Original article (peer-reviewed)
Author Schaffer Michelle, Peng Guanya, Spingler Bernhard, Schnabl Joachim, Wang Meitian, Olieric Vincent, Sigel Roland,
Project Metal Ions in Structure and Function of Regulatory RNAs
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Original article (peer-reviewed)

Journal International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Volume (Issue) 17(7)
Page(s) 988 - 988
Title of proceedings International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DOI 10.3390/ijms17070988

Open Access

URL http://doi.org/10.3390/ijms17070988
Type of Open Access Publisher (Gold Open Access)

Abstract

Due to the polyanionic nature of RNA, the principles of charge neutralization and electrostatic condensation require that cations help to overcome the repulsive forces in order for RNA to adopt a three-dimensional structure. A precise structural knowledge of RNA-metal ion interactions is crucial to understand the mechanism of metal ions in the catalytic or regulatory activity of RNA. We solved the crystal structure of an octameric RNA duplex in the presence of the di- and trivalent metal ions Ca2+, Mn2+, Co2+, Cu2+, Sr2+, and Tb3+. The detailed investigation reveals a unique innersphere interaction to uracil and extends the knowledge of the influence of metal ions for conformational changes in RNA structure. Furthermore, we could demonstrate that an accurate localization of the metal ions in the X-ray structures require the consideration of several crystallographic and geometrical parameters as well as the anomalous difference map.
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