RNA molecules with conserved catalytic cores but variable peripheries fold along unique energetically optimized pathways.

ABSTRACT: Functional and kinetic constraints must be efficiently balanced during the folding process of all biopolymers. To understand how homologous RNA molecules with different global architectures fold into a common core structure we determined, under identical conditions, the folding mechanisms of three phylogenetically divergent group I intron ribozymes. These ribozymes share a conserved functional core defined by topologically equivalent tertiary motifs but differ in their primary sequence, size, and structural complexity. Time-resolved hydroxyl radical probing of the backbone solvent accessible surface and catalytic activity measurements integrated with structural-kinetic modeling reveal that each ribozyme adopts a unique strategy to attain the conserved functional fold. The folding rates are

SUBMITTER: Mitra S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3153981 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature