Cellular conditions of weakly chelated magnesium ions strongly promote RNA stability and catalysis.

ABSTRACT: Most RNA folding studies have been performed under non-physiological conditions of high concentrations (≥10 mM) of Mg²⁺_free, while actual cellular concentrations of Mg²⁺_free are only ~1 mM in a background of greater than 50 mM Mg²⁺_total. To uncover cellular behavior of RNA, we devised cytoplasm mimic systems that include biological concentrations of amino acids, which weakly chelate Mg²⁺. Amino acid-chelated Mg²⁺ (aaCM) of ~15 mM dramatically increases RNA folding and prevents RNA degradation. Furthermore, aaCM enhance self-cleavage of several different ribozymes, up to 100,000-fold at Mg²⁺_free of just 0.5 mM, indirectly through RNA compaction. Other metabolites that weakly chelate

SUBMITTER: Yamagami R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5984629 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature