Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Denning EJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3275647 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Denning Elizabeth J EJ MacKerell Alexander D AD
Journal of the American Chemical Society 20120127 5
Canonical duplex RNA assumes only the A-form conformation at the secondary structure level while, in contrast, a wide range of noncanonical, tertiary conformations of RNA occur. Here, we show how the 2'-hydroxyl controls RNA conformational properties. Quantum mechanical calculations reveal that the orientation of the 2'-hydroxyl significantly alters the intrinsic flexibility of the phosphodiester backbone, favoring the A-form in duplex RNA when it is in the base orientation and facilitating samp ...[more]