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Updated: May 8, 2026

Study of Protein Dynamics via Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy
Published on: April 13, 2022
Conformational dynamics of bistable RNAs studied by time-resolved NMR spectroscopy
Boris Fürtig1, Philipp Wenter, Luc Reymond
1Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Institute for Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Max von Laue-Str. 7, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany.
Abstract:
The structural transition between two alternate conformations of bistable RNAs has been characterized by time-resolved NMR spectroscopy. The mechanism, kinetics, and thermodynamics underlying the global structural transition of bistable RNAs were delineated. Both bistable RNA conformations and a partial unstructured RNA of identical sequence could be trapped using photolabile protecting groups. This trapping allowed for an investigation of the initial folding from an unfolded RNA to one of the preferred conformations of the bistable RNA and of the structural transitions involved. Folding of the secondary structure elements occurs rapidly, while the global structural transition of the bistable RNA occurs on a time scale of minutes and shows marked temperature dependence. Comparison of these results with bistable systems previously investigated leads to the prediction of activation enthalpies (DeltaH++) associated with global structural transitions in RNA.
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