Monovalent and divalent promoted GAAA tetraloop-receptor tertiary interactions from freely diffusing single-molecule studies

Proper assembly of RNA into catalytically active three-dimensional structures requires multiple tertiary binding interactions, individual characterization of which is crucial to a detailed understanding of global RNA folding. This work focuses on single-molecule fluorescence studies of freely diffusing RNA constructs that isolate the GAAA tetraloop-receptor tertiary interaction. Freely diffusing conformational dynamics are explored as a function of Mg2(+) and Na+ concentration, both of which promote facile docking, but with 500-fold different affinities. Systematic shifts in mean fluorescence resonance energy transfer efficiency values and line widths with increasing [Na+] are observed for the undocked species and can be interpreted with a Debye model in terms of electrostatic relaxation and increased flexibility in the RNA. Furthermore, we identify a 34 +/- 2% fraction of freely diffusing RNA constructs remaining undocked even at saturating [Mg2+] levels, which agrees quantitatively with the 32 +/- 1% fraction previously reported for immobilized constructs. This verifies that the kinetic heterogeneity observed in the docking rates is not the result of surface tethering. Finally, the K-D value and Hill coefficient for [Mg2+]-dependent docking decrease significantly for [Na+] = 25 mM vs. 125 mM, indicating Mg2+ and Na+ synergy in the RNA folding process.