Variable base pairing in a helix of eubacterial 5 S ribosomal RNA points to the existence of a conformational switch

A survey of 160 published sequences of eubacterial 5 S rRNAs shows that there exists structural variability in one of the helices of the generally accepted secondary structure model. Four structural variants are found, which differ with respect to the position and the number of bulges present. Most eubacterial 5 S RNAs fit into at least two of these conformations. A reaction scheme connecting the four observed conformations by changes in the base pairing scheme is proposed. Each of the known 5 S RNA sequences fits into conformations interconvertible by the proposed reactions.