Topological constraints: using RNA secondary structure to model 3D conformation, folding pathways, and dynamic adaptation.

ABSTRACT: Accompanying recent advances in determining RNA secondary structure is the growing appreciation for the importance of relatively simple topological constraints, encoded at the secondary structure level, in defining the overall architecture, folding pathways, and dynamic adaptability of RNA. A new view is emerging in which tertiary interactions do not define RNA 3D structure, but rather, help select specific conformers from an already narrow, topologically pre-defined conformational distribution. Studies are providing fundamental insights into the nature of these topological constraints, how they are encoded by the RNA secondary structure, and how they interplay with other interactions, breathing new meaning to RNA secondary structure. New approaches have been developed that take advantage

SUBMITTER: Bailor MH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3319143 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature