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. 1996 Nov 1;24(21):4197–4201. doi: 10.1093/nar/24.21.4197

Secondary structure of the panhandle RNA of influenza virus A studied by NMR spectroscopy.

H K Cheong 1, C Cheong 1, B S Choi 1
PMCID: PMC146218  PMID: 8932372

Abstract

The double-stranded panhandle structure of the influenza virus RNA is important for replication, transcription and packaging into the virion of the virion RNA. The solution structure of a 34 nt RNA which contains the conserved panhandle sequences has been investigated by one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The partially complementary 5'- and 3'-ends of the RNA form a double helical structure which is, on average, close to A-form. The stem contains bulges at nucleotides A10, A12 and C26. In between these bulges, C11 and G25 form a Watson-Crick base pair. The structural features of the panhandle provide a framework for the explanation of mutational analysis and for a better understanding of RNA-polymerase interactions.

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Selected References

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