화학공학소재연구정보센터
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Vol.520, No.4, 702-704, 2019
Pseudouridines or how to draw on weak energy differences
In many RNA molecules, pseudouridines occur at conserved positions in functional sites. A great diversity of pseudouridine synthases guarantees the insertion of the modified base at precise locations. The accepted structural role of pseudouridines is a reduction of the RNA flexibility around the modification site. However, experiments rarely yield clear-cut evidence. The article "Dynamic stacking of an expected branch point adenosine in duplexes containing pseudouridine-modified or unmodified U2 snRNA sites" published in 2019 in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communication by Kennedy et al. constitute a provocative case [1]. This example illustrates how a definite conformational state can be selected through small energy differences in a constrained environment. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.