Dresden 2026 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 18: Focus session: Integrative Structural Modeling

BP 18.6: Talk

Wednesday, March 11, 2026, 12:30–12:45, BAR/0106

RNA adsorption in confinement, from electrostatic properties to spatial organization — •Horacio V. Guzman, Willy Menacho, and Ian Addison-Smith — Biophysics & Intelligent Matter Lab, Material Science Institute of Barcelona, CSIC, 08193 Barcelona, Spain

Electrostatic interactions are the main driving force of the RNA-protein association during viral assembly and disassembly processes. However, the properties of confined single stranded ss-RNA inside diverse proteinaceous viral geometries remain largely unexplored due to challenges associated with their high-resolution characterization. Electrostatics and mechanical properties at the RNA-proteins interface are also the origin of ss-RNA stability in confinement. Combining archetypical RNA fragments and diverse confined symmetries, we present multiple-solvent molecular models to explore the most favorable initial spatial organization as a function of the type of confinement. Our method shows that electrostatic interactions drive the 3D RNA structure path towards possible initial conformations. In particular for small RNAs, which are frequently interacting with the proteinaceous subunits during the virus assembly process, also known as packaging signals. We compared our results to X-ray structures of small plant viruses validating the most favorable initial conformations with our method and the virus folding symmetry. Our findings start a quantitative route to elucidate the electrostatic character of RNA-protein interfaces, and a complementary understanding to RNA packaging, assembly and disassembly processes.

Keywords: RNA 3D structure; icosahedral symmetry; RNA-protein interactions; confinement; electrostatics