Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Wadley, Leven Marsh

Titel

A reduced representation coordinate system yields insights into RNA structure

Erscheinungsjahr

2006

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• RNA structure is replete with interesting folds that are critical for macromolecular structure and function. Unfortunately, classifying these folds requires coordinate systems with a daunting number of degrees of freedom. This thesis focuses on my work with a significantly simplified description of RNA geometry. Using pseudotorsions, this so-called eta-theta representation reduces six degrees of freedom to two and still encapsulates a great deal of information about RNA structure. By studying the statistics and physics of the eta-theta representation, I have shown that eta, theta, and a third parameter (sugar pucker) are sufficient to describe RNA conformation fully in most cases. Importantly, this work has revealed that RNA structure is largely composed of a limited number of discrete structural 'building blocks'. I have used the eta-theta convention to make structural discoveries and to search for RNA motifs. Several unknown structural relationships are elucidated, and morphological comparisons reveal insights into RNA structure and function. In a first for the RNA field, I designed an automated algorithm that discovered novel recurring and biologically critical motifs. The physics of these motifs are studied with accurate electrostatics calculations.