Cover: TectoRNA molecules are defined as artificial RNA molecules capable of self-assembly to form nanoscale RNA structures. The cover illustration shows three-dimensional models for two different tectoRNA units that, in the presence of magnesium ions, self-dimerize through specific, high-affinity tertiary interactions involving a GAAA tetraloop (in red) and its specific receptor (in green) as described by Jaeger et al. in this issue: Nucleic Acids Res. (2000) 29, 455-463. The helical distance separating the two interacting motifs in the tectoRNA unit can vary by one helical turn (in violet). By taking advantage of the modular character of natural RNA molecules and the increasing number of known RNA motifs, a great variety of tectoRNA molecules can potentially be generated to form nanoscale RNA objects.
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