The change between alternative conformations are important elements in RNA regulations. For example, riboswitch-RNAs can be found in the 5’-nontranslated region of messenger RNAs (mRNA). They control the gene expression by allosteric conformational transformations triggered by ligand binding. NMR spectroscopy is used in order to analyse the real time change.
- Buck, J., Fürtig, B., Noeske, J., Wöhnert, J. & Schwalbe, H. Time-resolved NMR methods resolving ligand-induced RNA folding at atomic resolution. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104, 15699-15704 (2007)