‘Z-RNA’—a left-handed RNA double helix (original) (raw)
- Letter
- Published: 11 October 1984
- Phillip Cruz1,
- Ignacio Tinoco Jr1,
- Thomas M. Jovin1 na1 &
- …
- Johan H. van de Sande1 na1 nAff3
Nature volume 311, pages 584–586 (1984)Cite this article
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Abstract
In contrast to double-stranded DNA, there has so far been little evidence that double-stranded RNA can undergo major conformational transitions. We have investigated the conformation in different conditions of the double-stranded RNA molecule poly(G-C)·poly(G-C), by NMR, circular dichroism and absorbance spectroscopy. We report here evidence obtained by these different spectroscopic techniques that poly(G-C)·poly(G-C) undergoes a transition from the A-form to a left-handed Z-form in conditions of high ionic strength and at temperatures above 35°C. This conformational transition may be of relevance to the biological situations in which double-stranded RNA occurs, such as in ribosomes and in some viruses.
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Author notes
- Johan H. van de Sande
Present address: Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2N 4N1 - Thomas M. Jovin and Johan H. van de Sande: Abteilung Molekulare Biologie, Max Planck Institut für Biophysikalische Chemie, D-3400 Göttingen, FDR
Authors and Affiliations
- Chemistry Department and Laboratory of Chemical Biodynamics, University of California, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA
Kathleen Hall, Phillip Cruz, Ignacio Tinoco Jr, Thomas M. Jovin & Johan H. van de Sande
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Hall, K., Cruz, P., Tinoco, I. et al. ‘Z-RNA’—a left-handed RNA double helix.Nature 311, 584–586 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/311584a0
- Received: 04 June 1984
- Accepted: 09 August 1984
- Issue Date: 11 October 1984
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/311584a0