ArticleNucleic acids research2023
Goldilocks and RNA: where Mg2+ concentration is just right.
Article in Nucleic acids research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Interdependent RNA structural motifs at the 3'-terminus of the West Nile virus genome regulate viral growth.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- High-throughput monitoring of free MgAnalytical and bioanalytical chemistry · 2026Article
- The master molecule that built biology: How water shaped the chemistry of life.Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society · 2026Review
- Quantifying MgbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Selection for growth drives the emergence of genetic heredity in protocells.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Rational design of rigid mRNA folding architecture to enhance intracellular processing and protein production.Nature nanotechnology · 2026Article
- Uncovering Design and Assembly Rules for mRNA-DNA Origami.Nano letters · 2026Article
- Complex and Messy Prebiotic Chemistry: Obstacles and Opportunities for an RNA World.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Mapping of HOCl-oxidized RNA identifies abasic sites as major damage and oxidation product of oxoNature communications · 2025Article
- Elucidating the underlying mechanism of mechanical stress-induced impact on mRNA-LNP structure.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Self-splicing RNA circularization facilitated by intact group I and II introns.Nature communications · 2025Article
- The Clinical Spectrum of Acquired Hypomagnesemia: From Etiology to Therapeutic Approaches.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Biological Polymers: Evolution, Function, and Significance.Accounts of chemical research · 2025Article
- Effects of lipid membranes on RNA catalytic activity and stability.Biology of the cell · 2025Article
- Principles of ion binding to RNA inferred from the analysis of a 1.55 Å resolution bacterial ribosome structure - Part I: Mg2.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- Optimization of In Vitro Transcription Reaction for mRNA Production Using Chromatographic At-Line Monitoring.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2025Article
- From Catalysis of Evolution to Evolution of Catalysis.Accounts of chemical research · 2024Article
- Impact of mixing and shaking on mRNA-LNP drug product quality characteristics.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Optimizing Messenger RNA Analysis Using Ultra-Wide Pore Size Exclusion Chromatography Columns.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Magnesium, the most abundant divalent cation in cells, catalyzes RNA cleavage but also promotes RNA folding. Because folding can protect RNA from cleavage, we predicted a 'Goldilocks landscape', with local maximum in RNA lifetime at Mg2+ concentrations required for folding. Here, we use simulation and experiment to discover an innate and sophisticated mechanism of control of RNA lifetime. By simulation we characterized RNA Goldilocks landscapes and their dependence on cleavage and folding parameters. Experiments with yeast tRNAPhe and the Tetrahymena ribozyme P4-P6 domain show that structured RNAs can inhabit Goldilocks peaks. The Goldilocks peaks are tunable by differences in folded and unfolded cleavage rate constants, Mg2+ binding cooperativity, and Mg2+ affinity. Different folding and cleavage parameters produce Goldilocks landscapes with a variety of features. Goldilocks behavior allows ultrafine control of RNA chemical lifetime, whereas non-folding RNAs do not display Goldilocks peaks of protection. In sum, the effects of Mg2+ on RNA persistence are expected to be pleomorphic, both protecting and degrading RNA. In evolutionary context, Goldilocks behavior may have been a selectable trait of RNA in an early Earth environment containing Mg2+ and other metals.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.