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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Atomic Scale Structural Studies of Macromolecular Assemblies by Solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Published on: September 17, 2017
Characterisation of hydrogen bonding networks in RNAs via magic angle spinning solid state NMR spectroscopy
Kerstin Riedel1, Jörg Leppert, Oliver Ohlenschläger
1Abteilung Molekulare Biophysik/NMR-Spektroskopie, Institut für Molekulare Biotechnologie, Jena, Germany.
Abstract:
It is demonstrated that the spatial proximity of (1)H nuclei in hydrogen bonded base-pairs in RNAs can be conveniently mapped via magic angle spinning solid state NMR experiments involving proton spin diffusion driven chemical shift correlation of low gamma nuclei such as the imino and amino nitrogens of nucleic acid bases. As different canonical and non-canonical base-pairing schemes encountered in nucleic acids are characterised by topologically different networks of proton dipolar couplings, different base-pairing schemes lead to characteristic cross-peak intensity patterns in such correlation spectra. The method was employed in a study of a 100 kDa RNA composed of 97 CUG repeats, or (CUG)(97) that has been implicated in the neuromuscular disease myotonic dystrophy. (15)N-(15)N chemical shift correlation studies confirm the presence of Watson-Crick GC base pairs in (CUG)(97).
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