A quasi-cyclic RNA nano-scale molecular object constructed using kink turns

Area of Science:

• RNA structure and dynamics
• Nanotechnology
• Biomolecular engineering

Background:

• k-Turns are essential RNA structural motifs mediating tertiary interactions.
• Understanding RNA architecture is crucial for molecular biology and drug design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize a novel double-kink-turn motif in RNA.
• To explore the self-assembly capabilities of k-turn based structures.
• To demonstrate the potential of k-turns in constructing nanoscale molecular objects.

Main Methods:

• X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of assembled k-turn motifs.
• Design and synthesis of a multi-k-turn RNA molecule.
• Analysis of RNA self-assembly and structural plasticity.

Main Results:

• A double-kink-turn motif forms a horse-shoe structure capable of self-assembly into diverse shapes (dumbell, triangle, square).
• Single base-pair exchanges significantly alter the pore radius and shape of assemblies.
• A synthesized 114-nucleotide RNA with six k-turns forms a quasi-cyclic triangular object with quasi-D3 symmetry.

Conclusions:

• The k-turn is a powerful and versatile building block for creating nanoscale RNA structures.
• k-Turn motifs can be utilized to engineer complex RNA architectures with tunable properties.
• This work provides insights into RNA's role in organizing molecular architecture and mediating tertiary contacts.