Design of RNA-binding proteins and ligands

The rapidly expanding database of RNA structures and protein complexes is b eginning to lead to the successful design of specific RNA-binding molecules . Recent combinatorial and structure-based approaches have utilized known n ucleic-acid-binding scaffolds from both proteins and small molecules to dis play a relatively small set of functional groups often used in protein-RNA recognition. Several studies have shown that the tethering of multiple bind ing modules can enhance RNA-binding affinity and specificity, a strategy al so commonly used in DNA recognition.