Cooperativity and Interdependency between RNA Structure and RNA-RNA Interactions

Complex RNA-RNA interactions are increasingly known to play key roles in numerous biological processes from gene expression control to ribonucleoprotein granule formation. By contrast, the nature of these interactions and characteristics of their interfaces, especially those that involve partially or wholly structured RNAs, remain elusive. Herein, we discuss different modalities of RNA-RNA interactions with an emphasis on those that depend on secondary, tertiary, or quaternary structure. We dissect recently structurally elucidated RNA-RNA complexes including RNA triplexes, riboswitches, ribozymes, and reverse transcription complexes. These analyses highlight a reciprocal relationship that intimately links RNA structure formation with RNA-RNA interactions. The interactions not only shape and sculpt RNA structures but also are enabled and modulated by the structures they create. Understanding this two-way relationship between RNA structure and interactions provides mechanistic insights into the expanding repertoire of noncoding RNA functions, and may inform the design of novel therapeutics that target RNA structures or interactions.