NYU Chemistry Clinical Associate Professor Somdeb Mitra and Canadian colleague Borries Demeler published a study entitled, "Probing RNA–Protein Interactions and RNA Compaction by Sedimentation Velocity Analytical Ultracentrifugation" in RNA Spectroscopy. This publication is part of the Methods in Molecular Biology series.
Abstract: Recent advances in multi-wavelength analytical ultracentrifugation (MWL-AUC) combine the power of an exquisitely sensitive hydrodynamic-based separation technique with the added dimension of spectral separation. This added dimension has opened up new doors to much improved characterization of multiple, interacting species in solution. When applied to structural investigations of RNA, MWL-AUC can precisely report on the hydrodynamic radius and the overall shape of an RNA molecule by enabling precise measurements of its sedimentation and diffusion coefficients and identify the stoichiometry of interacting components based on spectral decomposition. Information provided in this chapter will allow an investigator to design experiments for probing ion and/or protein-induced global conformational changes of an RNA molecule and exploit spectral differences between proteins and RNA to characterize their interactions in a physiological solution environment.
To read the article, click here, or on the title, above.
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Canada Research Chairs Program.