RNA Folds: Insights from Recent Crystal Structures

Abstract

An RNA fold is the result of packing together two or more coaxial helical stacks. To date, four RNA folds have been determined at near-atomic resolution by X-ray crystallography: transfer RNA, the hammerhead ribozyme, the P4–P6 domain of the Tetrahymena group I intron, and the hepatitis delta virus ribozyme. All four folds result in RNAs that are considerably more compact than isolated A-form duplexes. These structures illustrate, to varying degrees, three modes of fold stabilization: association of complementary molecular surfaces, stabilization of close RNA packing by binding of cations, and stabilization through pseudoknotting.