Overall Architecture of tRNAPhe
Yeast tRNAPhe is used here to highlight several features of tRNA architecture that are found in many other RNAs.
In addition, each of the Chime images and the buttons that modify them serve as starting points for making changes in the displays. In this way, most of the display and coloring options of RasMol can be explored and practiced before attempting to do so on a molecule of your choice.
This starting image shows tRNAPhe in the Wireframe display with CPK coloring. The 5' and 3' ends are labeled.
[If you can't see the entire image on the left, "Resize".]
Additional Display and Color combinations can be selected from the Chime menu. (Mac: click-and-hold in the image; Windows: right-click.) Some suggestions for this structure are:
Sticks with Group: The connections between atoms are shown as thicker lines; the color spectrum is used to trace the polynucleotide from 5'-terminus (dark blue) to 3'-terminus (red).
Spacefill with Shapely: The four standard nucleotides are Shapely-colored as follows:
The modified nucleotides have these Shapely colors:
The characteristc L-shape structure results from regular secondary structure (helices) and several different kinds of tertiary interactions. The secondary structure elements are shown next.
Resizing frames on these pages.
If the image in the left frame is not completely visible, more useful space can be obtained in two ways.
First, get rid of the Netscape Toolbars, or at least show them as text, not pictures; make these changes under the Netscape Options menu and in General Preferences...
Second, the frames on this page can be "Resized" by putting the mouse on the frame border and dragging.
of this text.
