Dynamic Light Scattering Analysis on RNA Associated to Proteins

Serena Bernacchi

doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-0278-2_4

Dynamic Light Scattering Analysis on RNA Associated to Proteins

Methods Mol Biol. 2020:2113:31-39. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0278-2_4.

Author

Serena Bernacchi¹

Affiliation

¹ Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN - CNRS UPR 9002, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France. s.bernacchi@ibmc-cnrs.unistra.fr.

PMID: 32006306
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0278-2_4

Abstract

Dynamic light scattering represents an accurate, robust, and reliable technique to analyze molecule size in solution and monitor their interactions in real time. Here, we describe how to analyze by DLS an RNA-protein interaction. In our frame, we studied complexes formed between RNA fragments derived from the genome of HIV-1 in association with the viral precursor Pr55^Gag. These interactions are crucial for the specific selection of the viral genomic RNA (gRNA) from the bulk of the viral spliced and cellular RNAs. This chapter displays how DLS allows to characterize the interactions that regulate the early steps of viral assembly.

Keywords: Diffusion coefficient; Dynamic light scattering; Hydrodynamic radius; Pr55Gag precursor; Protein-RNA interactions; Viral assembly; Viral genomic RNA; Viral spliced RNA.

MeSH terms

Dynamic Light Scattering
HIV-1 / metabolism
HIV-1 / physiology*
Hydrodynamics
Protein Precursors / metabolism*
RNA, Viral / metabolism*
Virus Assembly

Substances

Protein Precursors
RNA, Viral
p55 gag precursor protein, Human immunodeficiency virus 1