"NMR of RNA – from methodological advances to the elucidation of functional RNA dynamics" with Christoph Kreutz, University of Innsbruck Austria (Online Seminar)

Title: NMR of RNA – from methodological advances to the elucidation of functional RNA dynamics

Speaker: Christoph Kreutz, University of Innsbruck Austria

Hosted by: Theodore Kwaku Dayie

Abstract: 

In the seminar I will introduce our recent additions to advance the stable isotope (SI) labeling procedures for nucleic acids and how we use these tailor made SI labeled RNAs and DNAs in NMR spectroscopic applications. As a recent example the 19F13C-aromatic labeling of RNA nucleobases to unlock the TROSY effect in RNA will be presented. The high potential to study complex nucleic acid systems by the incorporation of atom-specific 13C and 15N labeled residues will be highlighted. In detail, the simplification of NMR spectra of the 61 nt group II domain 6 RNA in slow exchange on the NMR chemical shift time scale will be showcased. The residue-specific isotope labeling also allowed to characterize the kinetic signature of the slow exchange process and to get unprecedented insights into the catalytic mechanism of the group II intron. Furthermore, a direct and robust approach to introduce radical PROXYL/TEMPO tags into larger RNAs will be presented allowing paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) NMR. A procedure for TEMPO labeling of a miRNA viral RNA complex will be presented.

Seminars start at 4:00 pm and refreshments served at 3:45 pm. All seminars are held in the Conference Room (1116) of the Institute for Physical Science and Technology (IPST) Building, unless otherwise noted.