Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a macromolecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. Its biological functions depend critically on its structure and flexibility. To date, no consistent picture has been obtained that describes the range of conformations assumed by RNA duplexes. Here, Cornell researchers used X-ray scattering at CHESS to quantify these variations. Their results quantify the substantial and solution-dependent deviations of double-stranded (ds) RNA duplexes from the assumed canonical A-form conformation.
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Image: Left: Experimental X-ray scattering curves for RNA duplexes in solutions containing dfferent concentrations of KCl and MgCl2. Right: RNA conformations resulting form the experimental data in comparison with the canonical RNA structure.