RNA cleavage by C-1027 chromophore, an enediyne antitumor antibiotic: high selectivity to an anticodon arm.

This study demonstrates unique reactivity of the C-1027 chromophore toward a tRNA(phe). In the presence of Mg2+ ions where the tRNA(phe) attains a stable three-dimensional structure, the enediyne chromophore exhibits high cleavage selectivity to the anticodon arm. The present reactivity of the C-1027 chromophore is useful in development of new chemical probes for mapping of tertiary RNA structure. Considering the paucity of RNA repair mechanisms, RNA may be also an important biological target for certain enediyne antibiotics.