RNA Tectonics (<scp>tectoRNA</scp>) for <scp>RNA</scp> nanostructure design and its application in synthetic biology

<jats:p>RNA molecules are versatile biomaterials that act not only as <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">DNA</jats:styled-content>‐like genetic materials but also have diverse functions in regulation of cellular biosystems. <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">RNA</jats:styled-content> is capable of regulating gene expression by sequence‐specific hybridization. This feature allows the design of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">RNA</jats:styled-content>‐based artificial gene regulators (riboregulators). <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">RNA</jats:styled-content> can also build complex two‐dimensional (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">2D</jats:styled-content>) and <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">3D</jats:styled-content> nanostructures, which afford protein‐like functions and make <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">RNA</jats:styled-content> an attractive material for nanobiotechnology. <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">RNA</jats:styled-content> tectonics is a methodology in <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">RNA</jats:styled-content> nanobiotechnology for the design and construction of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">RNA</jats:styled-content> nanostructures/nanoobjects through controlled self‐assembly of modular <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">RNA</jats:styled-content> units (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">tectoRNAs</jats:styled-content>). <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">RNA</jats:styled-content> nanostructures designed according to the concept of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">RNA</jats:styled-content> tectonics are also attractive as tools in synthetic biology, but <jats:italic>in vivo</jats:italic> <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">RNA</jats:styled-content> tectonics is still in the early stages. This review presents a summary of the achievements of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">RNA</jats:styled-content> tectonics and its related researches <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic>, and also introduces recent developments that facilitated the use of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">RNA</jats:styled-content> nanostructures in bacterial cells. <jats:italic>WIREs RNA</jats:italic> 2013, 4:651–664. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1185</jats:p><jats:p>This article is categorized under: <jats:list list-type="explicit-label"> <jats:list-item><jats:p>RNA Structure and Dynamics > RNA Structure, Dynamics, and Chemistry</jats:p></jats:list-item> <jats:list-item><jats:p>RNA Methods > RNA Analyses In Vitro and In Silico</jats:p></jats:list-item> </jats:list></jats:p>