Solid-state NMR and RNA structure: A new partnership?

Solid-state NMR (ssNMR) is an emerging technique for structural studies of biomolecules, which, unlike solution-state NMR, is applicable to molecules of any size. Significant success was achieved in structure determination of membrane proteins, amyloid fibrils, and large protein complexes in the past decade. Conversely, only a small number of studies have so far addressed RNA or protein-RNA complexes. Here, we discuss current progresses in the application of ssNMR to RNA structural studies. We review sample preparation and resonance assignment strategies and discuss the structural information that could be obtained so far for RNA by ssNMR.