Sizes of Long RNA Molecules Are Determined by the Branching Patterns of Their Secondary Structures.

ABSTRACT: Long RNA molecules are at the core of gene regulation across all kingdoms of life, while also serving as genomes in RNA viruses. Few studies have addressed the basic physical properties of long single-stranded RNAs. Long RNAs with nonrepeating sequences usually adopt highly ramified secondary structures and are better described as branched polymers. To test whether a branched polymer model can estimate the overall sizes of large RNAs, we employed fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to examine the hydrodynamic radii of a broad spectrum of biologically important RNAs, ranging from viral genomes to long noncoding regulatory RNAs. The relative sizes of long RNAs measured at low ionic strength correspond well to those predicted by two theoretical approaches that treat the effective branching

SUBMITTER: Borodavka A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5113152 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature