Structural Studies of 2-Thiouridine in RNA

Abstract

A pentamer RNA sequence, Gs²UUUC, and a s²U containing 14-mer RNA tetraloop hairpin were synthesized and characterized by NMR and by UV melting studies. These oligonucleotides were used as models to understand the effect of 2-thiouridine substitution on RNA structure and the potential for stabilization of tRNA codon-anticodon interactions through sU-34 modification. The magnitude of the effect of sU in our model system is comparable to the 20° C stabilization reported for 2-thiolation in a codonanticodon model system composed of two tRNAs with complementary anticodon sequences.