Whalefall-1 RNA motif
| Whalefall-1 RNA motif | |
|---|---|
Consensus secondary structure of Whalefall-1 RNAs | |
| Identifiers | |
| Symbol | wf-1 |
| Rfam | RF01762 |
| Other data | |
| RNA type | sRNA |
| Domain(s) | Whale fall metagenome |
| PDB structures | PDBe |
The Whalefall-1 RNA motif (also called wf-1) refers to a conserved RNA structure that was discovered using bioinformatics. Structurally, the motif consists of two stem-loops (see diagram), the second of which is often terminated by a CUUG tetraloop, which is an energetically favorable RNA sequence. Whalefall-1 RNAs are found only in DNA extracted from uncultivated bacteria found on whale fall, i.e., a whale carcass. As of 2010, Whalefall-1 RNAs have not been detected in any known, cultivated species of bacteria, and are thus one of several RNAs present in environmental samples.