RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The formation of intramolecular secondary structure brings mRNA ends in close proximity
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 289496
DO 10.1101/289496
A1 Wan-Jung C. Lai
A1 Mohammad Kayedkhordeh
A1 Erica V. Cornell
A1 Elie Farah
A1 Stanislav Bellaousov
A1 Robert Rietmeijer
A1 David H. Mathews
A1 Dmitri N. Ermolenko
YR 2018
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/03/27/289496.abstract
AB A number of protein factors regulate protein synthesis by bridging mRNA ends or untranslated regions (UTRs). Using experimental and computational approaches, we show that mRNAs from various organisms, including humans, have an intrinsic propensity to fold into structures in which the 5’ end and 3’ end are ≤ 7 nm apart irrespective of mRNA length. Computational estimates performed for ∼22,000 human transcripts indicate that the inherent proximity of the ends is a universal property of most, if not all, mRNA sequences. Only specific RNA sequences, which have low sequence complexity and are devoid of guanosines, are unstructured and exhibit end-to-end distances expected for the random coil conformation of RNA. Our results suggest that the intrinsic proximity of mRNA ends may facilitate binding of translation factors that bridge mRNA 5’ and 3’ UTRs. Furthermore, our studies provide the basis for measuring, computing and manipulating end-to-end distances and secondary structure in mRNAs in research and biotechnology.