Large noncoding RNAs fold into their biologically functional structures via compact yet
disordered intermediates, which couple the stable secondary structure of the RNA with the …

RNA enzymes or ribozymes catalyze some of the most important reactions in biology and
are thought to have played a central role in the origin and evolution of life on earth. Catalytic …

Ribozymes, which carry out phosphoryl-transfer reactions, often require Mg2+ ions for
catalytic activity. The correct folding of the active site and ribozyme tertiary structure is also …

Conformational equilibrium within the ubiquitous GNRA tetraloop motif was simulated at the
ensemble level, including 10 000 independent all-atom molecular dynamics trajectories …

Noncoding RNAs form unique 3D structures, which perform many regulatory functions. To
understand how RNAs fold uniquely despite a small number of tertiary interaction motifs, we …

Folding of ribozymes into well-defined tertiary structures usually requires divalent cations.
How Mg2+ ions direct the folding kinetics has been a long-standing unsolved problem …

Abstract Magnesium ions (Mg 2+) are essential for the folding, functional expression, and
structural stability of RNA molecules. However, predicting Mg 2+–binding sites in RNA …

Positively charged counterions drive RNA molecules into compact configurations that lead to
their biologically active structures. To understand how the valence and size of the cations …

Previous work from our lab suggests that a group of interdependent assembly factors (A3
factors) is necessary to create early, stable preribosomes. Many of these proteins bind at or …

Multiple studies hypothesize that DEAD-box proteins facilitate folding of the ai5γ group II
intron. However, these conclusions are generally inferred from splicing kinetics, and not from …