Institute of Inorganic Chemistry (Sigel Group)
Research

Interaction of metal ions with RNA

Focus of our research is the investigation of the interaction of metal ions with nucleic acids. We mostly work with group II introns. These large RNA molecules (600-2500 nt in lengths) are naturally occuring ribozymes, i.e. are catalytically active. Due to the polyanionic nature of oligonucleotides, metal ions are inextricably involved in structure and function of RNA and DNA molecules. To study the role of metal ions in large oligonucleotides, we are applying many different techniques like macromolecular NMR and X-ray spectroscopy, potentiometric pH titrations, PCR, PAGE, but also chemical synthesis and many others. Thus, we are working in a very interdisciplinary field at the interface between Inorganic and Biological Chemistry as well as Structural Biology.

For more information on group II introns and what we do, please refer to the Sigel Lab Webpage