The G x U wobble base pair. A fundamental building block of RNA structure crucial to RNA function in diverse biological systems.
The G x U wobble base pair is a fundamental unit of RNA secondary structure that is present in nearly every class of RNA from organisms of all three phylogenetic domains. It has comparable thermodynamic stability to Watson-Crick base pairs and is nearly isomorphic to them. Therefore, it often substitutes for G x C or A x U base pairs. The G x U wobble base pair also has unique chemical, structural, dynamic and ligand-binding properties, which can only be partially mimicked by Watson-Crick base pairs or other mispairs. These features mark sites containing G x U pairs for recognition by proteins and other RNAs and allow the wobble pair to play essential functional roles in a remarkably wide range of biological processes.
Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology,  Cambridge, UK.
G
G
Varani
W H
WH
McClain
D020029:Base Pairing / Q000235:genetics*; D006147:Guanine / Q000737:chemistry*; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014498:Uracil / Q000737:chemistry*
D014498:Uracil; D006147:Guanine; D012313:RNA