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. 1987 Aug;84(15):5120–5124. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.15.5120

Formation of the triple-stranded polynucleotide helix, poly(A.A.U).

S L Broitman, D D Im, J R Fresco
PMCID: PMC298805  PMID: 3474644

Abstract

A polynucleotide helical structure containing two strands of poly(A) and one of poly(U) is reported. As shown by spectroscopic observations, the complex only forms when the poly(A) strands are of Mr between 9000 and 50,000 (degree of polymerization congruent to 28-150), whereas the size of the poly(U) strand has no effect. This limitation may explain why poly(A.A.U) was not seen in previous investigations. The potential of the poly(A) tails of mRNA for formation of this triple helix and of A.A.U or/and A.A.T triplet formation to contribute to the binding of specific RNA strands to gene-encoding nucleic acid double helices are noted.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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