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Science 12 August 1994:
Vol. 265. no. 5174, pp. 918 - 924
DOI: 10.1126/science.8052848
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Articles

Science, Vol 265, Issue 5174, 918-924
Copyright © 1994 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Kinetic intermediates in RNA folding

PP Zarrinkar and Williamson JR

Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139.

The folding pathways of large, highly structured RNA molecules are largely unexplored. Insight into both the kinetics of folding and the presence of intermediates was provided in a study of the Mg(2+)-induced folding of the Tetrahymena ribozyme by hybridization of complementary oligodeoxynucleotide probes. This RNA folds via a complex mechanism involving both Mg(2+)-dependent and Mg(2+)-independent steps. A hierarchical model for the folding pathway is proposed in which formation of one helical domain (P4-P6) precedes that of a second helical domain (P3-P7). The overall rate-limiting step is formation of P3-P7, and takes place with an observed rate constant of 0.72 +/- 0.14 minute-1. The folding mechanism of large RNAs appears similar to that of many multidomain proteins in that formation of independently stable substructures precedes their association into the final conformation.


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