Nucleic Acids Research, Vol 24, Issue 7 1337-1344, Copyright © 1996 by Oxford University Press
S Watanabe, G Kawai, Y Muto, K Watanabe, T Inoue and S Yokoyama
On the basis of the nucleotide sequence of Tetrahymena group I intron, we
constructed a 31 residue RNA that has the P7 stem and the 3'- terminal
guanosine residue (3'-G) with a putative stem-loop structure (P9.0)
intervening between them. For this model RNA (P7/P9.0/G), four residues
around the guanosine binding site (GBS) in the P7 stem were found to
exhibit much lower sensitivities to ribonuclease V1 than those of a variant
RNA having adenosine in place of the 3'-G, suggesting that the 3'-G
contacts around the GBS. NMR analyses of the imino proton resonances of the
P7/P9.0/G RNA indicated that the base pairing in the GBS is retained on the
interaction with the 3'-G, and that the two base pairs of the putative P9.0
stem-loop are definitely formed. Comparison of the RNA with its variants
with either A (3'-A) or a deletion in place of the 3'-G suggested that the
stability of the P9.0 stem-loop is affected by the GBS-3'-G interaction.
The melting temperatures of the P9.0 stem-loop were determined from the UV
absorbances of these RNAs, which quantitatively indicated that the P9.0
stem-loop is significantly stabilized by the interaction of the GBS with
the 3'-G, rather than the 3'-A, and also by direct interaction with
divalent cations (Mg2+, Ca2+ or Mn2+). Upon replacement of the G-C base
pair by C-G in the GBS of the P7/P9.0/G RNA, the specificity was switched
from 3'-G to 3'-A, as in the case of the intact intron.
ARTICLES
An RNA fragment consisting of the P7 and P9.0 stems and the 3'-terminal guanosine of the Tetrahymena group I intron
Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, School of Science, University of Tokyo, Japan.
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