A homodimer interface without base pairs in an RNA mimic of red fluorescent protein.

Publication Type:

Journal Article

Source:

Nat Chem Biol, Volume 13, Issue 11, p.1195-1201 (2017)

Keywords:

Aptamers, Nucleotide, Base Pairing, Base Sequence, Dimerization, Fluorescent Dyes, G-Quadruplexes, Humans, Luminescent Proteins, Nucleic Acid Conformation, Optical Imaging

Abstract:

<p>Corn, a 28-nucleotide RNA, increases yellow fluorescence of its cognate ligand 3,5-difluoro-4-hydroxybenzylidene-imidazolinone-2-oxime (DFHO) by &gt;400-fold. Corn was selected in vitro to overcome limitations of other fluorogenic RNAs, particularly rapid photobleaching. We now report the Corn-DFHO co-crystal structure, discovering that the functional species is a quasisymmetric homodimer. Unusually, the dimer interface, in which six unpaired adenosines break overall two-fold symmetry, lacks any intermolecular base pairs. The homodimer encapsulates one DFHO at its interprotomer interface, sandwiching it with a G-quadruplex from each protomer. Corn and the green-fluorescent Spinach RNA are structurally unrelated. Their convergent use of G-quadruplexes underscores the usefulness of this motif for RNA-induced small-molecule fluorescence. The asymmetric dimer interface of Corn could provide a basis for the development of mutants that only fluoresce as heterodimers. Such variants would be analogous to Split GFP, and may be useful for analyzing RNA co-expression or association, or for designing self-assembling RNA nanostructures.</p>

Beamline: 
24-ID-C
24-ID-E