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Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is RNA with two complementary strands found in cells. It is similar to DNA but with the replacement of thymine by uracil and the adding of one oxygen atom. [ 1 ] Despite the structural similarities, much less is known about dsRNA.
Unlike double-stranded DNA, RNA is usually a single-stranded molecule (ssRNA) [4] in many of its biological roles and consists of much shorter chains of nucleotides. [5] However, double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) can form and (moreover) a single RNA molecule can, by complementary base pairing, form intrastrand double helixes, as in tRNA.
Double-stranded RNA forms an A-type helical structure, unlike the common B-type conformation taken by double-stranded DNA molecules. The secondary structure of RNA consists of a single polynucleotide. Base pairing in RNA occurs when RNA folds between complementarity regions. Both single- and double-stranded regions are often found in RNA molecules.
Well-studied biological nucleic acid molecules range in size from 21 nucleotides (small interfering RNA) to large chromosomes (human chromosome 1 is a single molecule that contains 247 million base pairs [18]). In most cases, naturally occurring DNA molecules are double-stranded and RNA molecules are single-stranded. [19]
A base pair (bp) is a fundamental unit of double-stranded nucleic acids consisting of two nucleobases bound to each other by hydrogen bonds. They form the building blocks of the DNA double helix and contribute to the folded structure of both DNA and RNA.
A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases within the nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. This succession is denoted by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of the nucleotides. By convention, sequences are usually presented from the 5' end to the 3' end.
Kissing hairpins are formed when a single strand of nucleic acid complements with itself creating loops of RNA in the form of a hairpin. [12] When two hairpins come into contact with each other in vivo, the complementary bases of the two strands form up and begin to unwind the hairpins until a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) complex is formed or ...
A palindromic sequence is a nucleic acid sequence in a double-stranded DNA or RNA molecule whereby reading in a certain direction (e.g. 5' to 3') on one strand is identical to the sequence in the same direction (e.g. 5' to 3') on the complementary strand. This definition of palindrome thus depends on complementary strands being palindromic of ...