Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Nucleic Acids Research
Publication Date
4-15-1999
Volume
27
Issue
8
Disciplines
Biology | Life Sciences
Abstract
Studying the intricate folding of rRNA within the ribosome remains a complex problem. Phenanthroline-Cu(II) complexes cleave phosphodiester bonds in rRNA in specific regions, apparently especially where the rRNA structure is constrained in some fashion. We have introduced phenanthroline-copper complexes into 50S Escherichia coli ribosomal subunits and shown specific cleavages in the regions containing nucleotides 60-66 and 87-100. This specificity of cleavage is reduced when the ribosome is heated to 80 degrees C and reduced to background when the ribosomal proteins are extracted and the cleavage repeated on protein-free 23S rRNA, It has been suggested that nucleotides 60-66 and 87-95 in E.coli 23S rRNA are involved in a putative pseudoknot structure, which is supported by covariance data. The paired cleavages of nearly equal intensity of these two regions, when in the ribosome, may further support the existence of a pseudoknot structure in the 100 region of 23S rRNA.
DOI
10.1093/nar/27.8.1906
Rights
© 1999, Oxford University Press. View original published article at 10.1093/nar/27.8.1906.
Recommended Citation
Muth, G. W.; Thompson, Charles M.; and Hill, Walter E., "Cleavage of a 23S rRNA Pseudoknot by Phenanthroline-Cu(II)" (1999). Biological Sciences Faculty Publications. 11.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/biosci_pubs/11