Conformational features of topologically classified RNA secondary structures.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Current RNA secondary structure prediction approaches predict prevalent pseudoknots such as the H-pseudoknot and kissing hairpin. The number of possible structures increases drastically when more complex pseudoknots are considered, thus leading to computational limitations. On the other hand, the enormous population of possible structures means not all of them appear in real RNA molecules. Therefore, it is of interest to understand how many of them really exist and the reasons for their preferred existence over the others, as any new findings revealed by this study might enhance the capability of future structure prediction algorithms for more accurate prediction of complex pseudoknots.

Methodology/principal findings

A novel algorithm was devised to estimate the e

SUBMITTER: Chiu JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3390330 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature