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Tinoco Research Group Department of Chemistry University
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| Publications | 2010 Tinoco
Symposium (picture
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Welcome to Tinoco Group
The
sequence of nucleotides in a nucleic acid determines its structure and
function; Professor
Tinoco and his students want to deduce these
fundamental properties from the sequence. Important questions are: • What folded, base
paired structure of an RNA is specified by the
sequence? •
How do RNA loops interact with each other, or with double stranded regions to
form compact three-dimensional structures? • What proteins, drugs,
and ions do these structures bind? •
How do the sequence and structure affect the functions of ribosomal RNA's, the sites of processing of RNA, the translation of
messenger RNA's, the replication of RNA viruses, and the catalytic abilities
of RNA enzymes? Our
main emphasis is single-molecule measurements. A single RNA is held between
beads and force is applied to unfold it in any chosen condition. The work
done in unfolding the RNA provides the free energy of the reaction in the
chosen environment. The kinetics of the reaction can also be obtained. We
have recently started studies of protein translation by individual ribosomes.
Translation occurs by a series of steps with translocations of approximately
0.1 s followed by pauses of order 1 s. We are learning the effects of
messenger RNA sequence and structure, and of antibiotics, on translation, in
particular on the mechanism of frameshifting. Some
general things about RNA: PDF Audio This
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