ArticleCommunications biology2026
Local cation-clamping distorts and softens RNA duplex.
Article in Communications biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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7 authors.
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Abstract
Multivalent cations are essential for DNA and RNA structures and their functions. However, how multivalent cations and their accompanying anions jointly reshape nucleic-acid mechanics, and why DNA and RNA respond so differently, remain unclear. Here we show using single-molecule magnetic tweezers that increasing multivalent cation concentrations first softens and then stiffens DNA due to charge inversion, whereas RNA first stiffens and then softens by over twofold. Our all-atom simulations reproduce these effects and reveal a physical mechanism: at low concentrations, multivalent cations clamp the RNA major groove, stiffening RNA; at higher concentrations, anions disrupt this groove clamping and promote local cation-clamping that distorts and softens RNA. The mechanism also explains changes in stretching modulus, contour length, and twist-stretch coupling. Our findings reveal that local cation-clamping sharply softens RNA and highlight the significant roles of anions in modulating RNA structure, providing a framework for tuning nucleic-acid mechanics in vitro for RNA-related applications.
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