| Literature DB >> 8159754 |
Abstract
The spliced leader RNA from Leptomonas collosoma has two competing secondary structures of nearly equal free energy. Short, complementary oligonucleotides can drive the structure from one form of the other. We report stopped-flow rapid-mixing and temperature-jump measurements of the kinetics of the structural switch. At high concentrations of oligonucleotide, the rate of binding becomes limited by the rate of the structural switch, which occurs on a time scale of a fraction of a second. The low activation energy observed for the process implies a branch migration type of mechanism in which portions of the two competing helices transiently coexist.Entities:
Mesh:
Substances:
Year: 1994 PMID: 8159754 PMCID: PMC43579 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.91.8.3373
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ISSN: 0027-8424 Impact factor: 11.205