A detailed comparative analysis of archaeal RNase P RNA
structure and a comparison of the resulting structural
information with that of the bacterial RNA reveals that
the archaeal RNase P RNAs are strikingly similar to those
of Bacteria. The differences between the secondary structure
models of archaeal and bacterial RNase P RNA have largely
disappeared, and even variation in the sequence and structure
of the RNAs are similar in extent and type. The structure
of the cruciform (P7–11) has been reevaluated on
the basis of a total of 321 bacterial and archaeal sequences,
leading to a model for the structure of this region of
the RNA that includes an extension to P11 that consistently
organizes the cruciform and adjacent highly-conserved sequences.