Cryo-EM reveals mechanisms of natural RNA multivalency.
Wang, L., Xie, J., Gong, T., Wu, H., Tu, Y., Peng, X., Shang, S., Jia, X., Ma, H., Zou, J., Xu, S., Zheng, X., Zhang, D., Liu, Y., Zhang, C., Luo, Y., Huang, Z., Shao, B., Ying, B., Cheng, Y., Guo, Y., Lai, Y., Huang, D., Liu, J., Wei, Y., Sun, S., Zhou, X., Su, Z.(2025) Science 388: 545-550
- PubMed: 40080543 Search on PubMed
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adv3451
- Primary Citation Related Structures: 
9ISV, 9J3R, 9J3T, 9J6Y, 9KPH, 9KPO, 9L0R, 9LCR, 9LMF - PubMed Abstract: 
Homo-oligomerization of biological macromolecules leads to functional assemblies that are critical to understanding various cellular processes. However, RNA quaternary structures have rarely been reported. Comparative genomics analysis has identified RNA families containing hundreds of sequences that adopt conserved secondary structures and likely fold into complex three-dimensional structures. In this study, we used cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to determine structures from four RNA families, including ARRPOF and OLE forming dimers and ROOL and GOLLD forming hexameric, octameric, and dodecameric nanostructures, at 2.6- to 4.6-angstrom resolutions. These homo-oligomeric assemblies reveal a plethora of structural motifs that contribute to RNA multivalency, including kissing-loop, palindromic base-pairing, A-stacking, metal ion coordination, pseudoknot, and minor-groove interactions. These results provide the molecular basis of intermolecular interactions driving RNA multivalency with potential functional relevance.
- The State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital; The State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, National Center for Stomatology, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
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