The separation between the 5'-3' ends in long RNA molecules is short and nearly constant.

ABSTRACT: RNA molecules play different roles in coding, decoding and gene expression regulation. Such roles are often associated to the RNA secondary or tertiary structures. The folding dynamics lead to multiple secondary structures of long RNA molecules, since an RNA molecule might fold into multiple distinct native states. Despite an ensemble of different structures, it has been theoretically proposed that the separation between the 5' and 3' ends of long single-stranded RNA molecules (ssRNA) remains constant, independent of their base content and length. Here, we present the first experimental measurements of the end-to-end separation in long ssRNA molecules. To determine this separation, we use single molecule Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer of fluorescently end-labeled ssRNA molecules ra

SUBMITTER: Leija-Martinez N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4267660 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature