Engineering cooperative tecto-RNA complexes having programmable stoichiometries.

ABSTRACT: High affinity and specificity RNA-RNA binding interfaces can be constructed by combining pairs of GNRA loop/loop-receptor interaction motifs. These interactions can be fused using flexible four-way junction motifs to create divalent, self-assembling scaffolding units ('tecto-RNA') that have favorable properties for nanomedicine and other applications. We describe the design and directed assembly of tecto-RNA units ranging from closed, cooperatively assembling ring-shaped complexes of programmable stoichiometries (dimers, trimers and tetramers) to open multimeric structures. The novelty of this work is that tuning of the stoichiometries of self-assembled complexes is achieved by precise positioning of the interaction motifs in the monomer units rather than changing their binding specificiti

SUBMITTER: Novikova IV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3074147 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature