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Figure 2
Cross-strand stacking in an intermolecular UUCG–UUCG motif. In the schematic, Watson–Crick base pairing is depicted by straight lines, G–U wobbles by solid black circles and non-Watson–Crick pairing by open circles. (a) Overview of the observed duplex. (b) The UUCG dimerization interface comprises a compressed helical structure with an approximate diameter of 12 Å owing to cross-stand base stacking. (c) A previously observed UUCG dimerization interface lacked cross-strand stacking and was wider, with an approximate diameter of 18 Å. (d) In addition to cross-strand stacking, dimerization of the UUCG motif utilizes twofold-symmetric hydrogen bonding between the 2′ OH and the N3 of neighboring uridine nucleotides (U11 and U11′ in the figure and the adjacent schematic) and hydrogen bonding between N4 of cytidine and O2 of uridine across the duplex (U11 and C12′ and also U11′ and C12).

Journal logoSTRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
COMMUNICATIONS
ISSN: 2053-230X
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