Kissing stem-loop

A kissing stem-loop, or kissing interaction, is formed in RNA when two bases between two hairpin loops pair. These intra- and intermolecular kissing interactions are important in forming the tertiary or quaternary structure of many RNAs.[1]

RNA kissing interactions, also called loop-loop pseudoknots, occur when the unpaired nucleotides in one hairpin loop, base pair with the unpaired nucleotides in another hairpin loop.[2] When the hairpin loops are located on separate RNA molecules, their intermolecular interaction is called a kissing complex. These interactions generally form between stem-loops. However, stable complexes have been observed containing only two intermolecular Watson–Crick base pairs.[3][4]

Biological significance

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules perform their function in living cells by adopting specific and highly complex 3-dimensional structures. It is believed that recombination may be intitated by the kissing loops. Recombination is critical to successful evolution, especially in the adaptation and survival of viruses.[5][6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "A stem-loop "kissing" model for the initiation of recombination and the origin of introns" (PDF). Molecular Biology and Evolution. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040273.
  2. ↑ Nowakowski, J.; Tinoco, I.; Jr (1997). "Semin". Virology. 8: 153–165. doi:10.1006/smvy.1997.0118.
  3. ↑ Kim, C. H.; Tinoco, I.; Jr (2000). "A retroviral RNA kissing complex containing only two G{middle dot". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 97: 9396–9401. doi:10.1073/pnas.170283697. PMC 16875.
  4. ↑ Andersen, Angela A.; Collins, Richard A. (2001). "Intramolecular secondary structure rearrangement by the kissing interaction of the Neurospora VS ribozyme". PNAS. 98 (14): 7735. doi:10.1073/pnas.141039198. PMC 35410.
  5. ↑ Chen, Yu, and Varani, Gabriele(Jun 2010) RNA Structure. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester.
  6. ↑ "RNA Structure". Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. doi:10.1002/9780470015902.a0001339.pub2.
  • http://web.chem.ucsb.edu/~molvisual/large_rna_motifs.html
  • Rakotondrafara, AM; Polacek, C; Harris, E; Miller, WA (2006). "Oscillating kissing stem-loop interactions mediate 5' scanning-dependent translation by a viral 3'-cap-independent translation element". RNA. 12: 1893–906. doi:10.1261/rna.115606. PMC 1581982. PMID 16921068.
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