Isolation of RNA Aptamers for Biological Cofactors by In Vitro Selection

Short RNA sequences with specific secondary structure (see below) are the binding motifs for the cofactors flavin adenine dinucleotide and flavin mononucleotide (FAD and FMN, respectively), according to selection experiments with randomized RNA pools and FAD- and FMN-modified agarose. It was also shown that only the flavin portion plays a role in binding. Analogous experiments were conducted with NAD+ and its mononucleotide.