This project is dedicated to achieving this level of understanding for a ubiquitous building block element of RNA tertiary structure: the helix-junction-helix (HJH) motif. Our studies are made possible by recent breakthroughs in experimental techniques for dissecting RNA structure ensembles. This study will mark the beginning of an effort aimed at comprehensively characterizing the entire HJH ‘periodic table’.

Goal: 

Our aim is to resolve the conformational ensembles of helix-junction-helix (HJH) RNA motifs and higher order HJH assembly, and to understand their dependence on solution condition and potentially sequence.