Visualizing the structure and motion of the long noncoding RNA HOTAIR

Long noncoding RNA molecules (lncRNAs) are estimated to account for the majority of eukaryotic genomic transcripts, and have been associated with multiple diseases in humans. However, our understanding of their structure-function relationships is scarce, with structural evidence coming mostly from i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:RNA (Cambridge) 2020-05, Vol.26 (5), p.629-636
Main Authors: Spokoini-Stern, Rachel, Stamov, Dimitar, Jessel, Hadass, Aharoni, Lior, Haschke, Heiko, Giron, Jonathan, Unger, Ron, Segal, Eran, Abu-Horowitz, Almogit, Bachelet, Ido
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antisense RNA
Apoptosis - genetics
Atomic force microscopy
Computer applications
DNA - chemistry
DNA - genetics
DNA - ultrastructure
Humans
Microscopy, Atomic Force
Nucleic Acid Conformation
Ribonucleic acid
RNA
RNA, Long Noncoding - chemistry
RNA, Long Noncoding - genetics
RNA, Long Noncoding - ultrastructure
Structure-Activity Relationship
Structure-function relationships
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Summary:Long noncoding RNA molecules (lncRNAs) are estimated to account for the majority of eukaryotic genomic transcripts, and have been associated with multiple diseases in humans. However, our understanding of their structure-function relationships is scarce, with structural evidence coming mostly from indirect biochemical approaches or computational predictions. Here we describe direct visualization of the lncRNA HOTAIR (HOx Transcript AntIsense RNA) using atomic force microscopy (AFM) in nucleus-like conditions at 37°. Our observations reveal that HOTAIR has a discernible, although flexible, shape. Fast AFM scanning enabled the quantification of the motion of HOTAIR, and provided visual evidence of physical interactions with genomic DNA segments. Our report provides a biologically plausible description of the anatomy and intrinsic properties of HOTAIR, and presents a framework for studying the structural biology of lncRNAs.
ISSN:1355-8382
1469-9001
DOI:10.1261/rna.074633.120