Ions Around RNA:  Insights from SAXS and ASAXS experiments

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Suzette Pabit, Xiangyun Qiu, Jessica S. Lamb, Li Li, Steve P. Meisburger, and Lois Pollack
School of Applied Engineering Physics
Cornell University

Abstract:
The recent discovery of the RNA interference mechanism emphasizes the biological importance of short, double-stranded RNA molecules and calls for a thorough examination of dsRNA biophysical properties. Of particular interest is how electrostatic interactions contribute to long-range effects that eventually lead to selective recognition of short RNA or DNA helices by target proteins and nucleic acid ligands. In this talk, we illustrate the application of non-resonant Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) and Anomalous Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (ASAXS) experiments to characterize ion distributions around nucleic acids and discuss the implications of ion-mediated inter-nucleic acid interactions.