TY  - JOUR
A1  - Steinmetzger, Christian
A1  - Bessi, Irene
A1  - Lenz, Ann-Kathrin
A1  - Höbartner, Claudia
T1  - Structure-fluorescence activation relationships of a large Stokes shift fluorogenic RNA aptamer
JF  - Nucleic Acids Research
N2  - The Chili RNA aptamer is a 52 nt long fluorogen-activating RNA aptamer (FLAP) that confers fluorescence to structurally diverse derivatives of fluorescent protein chromophores. A key feature of Chili is the formation of highly stable complexes with different ligands, which exhibit bright, highly Stokes-shifted fluorescence emission. In this work, we have analyzed the interactions between the Chili RNA and a family of conditionally fluorescent ligands using a variety of spectroscopic, calorimetric and biochemical techniques to reveal key structure - fluorescence activation relationships (SFARs). The ligands under investigation form two categories with emission maxima of ~540 nm or ~590 nm, respectively, and bind with affinities in the nanomolar to low-micromolar range. Isothermal titration calorimetry was used to elucidate the enthalpic and entropic contributions to binding affinity for a cationic ligand that is unique to the Chili aptamer. In addition to fluorescence activation, ligand binding was also observed by NMR spectroscopy, revealing characteristic signals for the formation of a G-quadruplex only upon ligand binding. These data shed light on the molecular features required and responsible for the large Stokes shift and the strong fluorescence enhancement of red and green emitting RNA-chromophore complexes.
KW  - Chili RNA Aptamer
KW  - fluorogen-activating RNA aptamer (FLAP)
KW  - Stokes-shifted fluorescence emission
KW  - key structure - fluorescence activation relationships (SFARs)
KW  - ligand binding
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-192340
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Mieczkowski, Mateusz
A1  - Steinmetzger, Christian
A1  - Bessi, Irene
A1  - Lenz, Ann-Kathrin
A1  - Schmiedel, Alexander
A1  - Holzapfel, Marco
A1  - Lambert, Christoph
A1  - Pena, Vladimir
A1  - Höbartner, Claudia
T1  - Large Stokes shift fluorescence activation in an RNA aptamer by intermolecular proton transfer to guanine
JF  - Nature Communications
N2  - Fluorogenic RNA aptamers are synthetic functional RNAs that specifically bind and activate conditional fluorophores. The Chili RNA aptamer mimics large Stokes shift fluorescent proteins and exhibits high affinity for 3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxybenzylidene imidazolone (DMHBI) derivatives to elicit green or red fluorescence emission. Here, we elucidate the structural and mechanistic basis of fluorescence activation by crystallography and time-resolved optical spectroscopy. Two co-crystal structures of the Chili RNA with positively charged DMHBO+ and DMHBI+ ligands revealed a G-quadruplex and a trans-sugar-sugar edge G:G base pair that immobilize the ligand by π-π stacking. A Watson-Crick G:C base pair in the fluorophore binding site establishes a short hydrogen bond between the N7 of guanine and the phenolic OH of the ligand. Ultrafast excited state proton transfer (ESPT) from the neutral chromophore to the RNA was found with a time constant of 130 fs and revealed the mode of action of the large Stokes shift fluorogenic RNA aptamer.
KW  - Fluorogenic RNA Aptamers
KW  - Synthetic Functional RNAs
KW  - Chili RNA Aptamer
KW  - Co-Crystal Structures of Chili RNA
KW  - RNA
KW  - Optical Spectroscopy
KW  - Structural Biology
KW  - X-ray Crystallography
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-254527
VL  - 12
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Mieczkowski, Mateusz
A1  - Steinmetzger, Christian
A1  - Bessi, Irene
A1  - Lenz, Ann-Kathrin
A1  - Schmiedel, Alexander
A1  - Holzapfel, Marco
A1  - Lambert, Christoph
A1  - Pena, Vladimir
A1  - Höbartner, Claudia
T1  - Large Stokes shift fluorescence activation in an RNA aptamer by intermolecular proton transfer to guanine
JF  - Nature Communications
N2  - Fluorogenic RNA aptamers are synthetic functional RNAs that specifically bind and activate conditional fluorophores. The Chili RNA aptamer mimics large Stokes shift fluorescent proteins and exhibits high affinity for 3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxybenzylidene imidazolone (DMHBI) derivatives to elicit green or red fluorescence emission. Here, we elucidate the structural and mechanistic basis of fluorescence activation by crystallography and time-resolved optical spectroscopy. Two co-crystal structures of the Chili RNA with positively charged DMHBO+ and DMHBI+ ligands revealed a G-quadruplex and a trans-sugar-sugar edge G:G base pair that immobilize the ligand by π-π stacking. A Watson-Crick G:C base pair in the fluorophore binding site establishes a short hydrogen bond between the N7 of guanine and the phenolic OH of the ligand. Ultrafast excited state proton transfer (ESPT) from the neutral chromophore to the RNA was found with a time constant of 130 fs and revealed the mode of action of the large Stokes shift fluorogenic RNA aptamer.
KW  - RNA
KW  - optical spectroscopy
KW  - structural biology
KW  - X-ray crystallography
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-270274
VL  - 12
ER  -