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RNA footprinting analysis using ion pair reverse phase liquid chromatography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2002

MARK J. DICKMAN
Affiliation:
Transgenomic Research Laboratory, Krebs Institute, University of Sheffield, Firth Court, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
MATTHEW J. CONROY
Affiliation:
Transgenomic Research Laboratory, Krebs Institute, University of Sheffield, Firth Court, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
JANE A. GRASBY
Affiliation:
Centre for Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, Krebs Institute, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S3 7HF, United Kingdom
DAVID P. HORNBY
Affiliation:
Transgenomic Research Laboratory, Krebs Institute, University of Sheffield, Firth Court, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
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Abstract

Hydroxyl radical footprinting is a powerful technique often employed in characterization of the tertiary interactions between proteins and nucleic acids. Following the generation of a nucleic acid “ladder” either by chemical or enzymatic reactions, the radiolabeled products are traditionally separated by denaturing gel electrophoresis and further quantified by phosphorimaging techniques. Here we report the use of ion pair reverse phase liquid chromatography to analyze the products of an RNA footprinting reaction using fluorescently labeled RNA molecules. This technique offers several advantages over existing procedures, including rapid analysis, automation, and direct quantification of the cleavage products without the need to employ radiolabeling. To illustrate the resolving power of this technique, we have analyzed the products of base hydrolysis, generated from a fluorescently labeled RNA molecule and have subsequently used this method to define the solvent accessibility of the substrate strand as it docks with the hairpin ribozyme.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2002 RNA Society

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