Quantitative analyses of interactions between SpoVG and RNA/DNA.

The SpoVG protein has previously been found to be a DNA- and RNA-binding protein. To aid in the elucidation of ligand motifs, affinities for numerous RNAs, ssDNAs, and dsDNAs were measured and compared. The loci used in the study were and , with particular focus on the untranslated 5' portion of the mRNAs. Performing binding and competition assays yielded that the 5' end of mRNA had the highest affinity while the lowest observed affinity was to the 5' end of mRNA. Mutagenesis studies of RNA and ssDNA sequences suggested that the formation of SpoVG-nucleic acid complexes are not entirely dependent on either sequence or structure. Additionally, exchanging uracil for thymine in ssDNAs did not affect protein-nucleic acid complex formation.