RNA denaturation: excluded volume, pseudoknots, and transition scenarios
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Updated: Aug 30, 2026

Sequence-specific and Selective Recognition of Double-stranded RNAs over Single-stranded RNAs by Chemically Modified Peptide Nucleic Acids
Published on: September 21, 2017
M Baiesi1, E Orlandini, A L Stella
1INFM-Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Padova, I-35131 Padua, Italy.
Abstract:
A lattice model of RNA denaturation which fully accounts for the excluded volume effects among nucleotides is proposed. A numerical study shows that interactions forming pseudoknots must be included in order to get a sharp continuous transition. Otherwise a smooth crossover occurs from the swollen linear polymer behavior to highly ramified, almost compact conformations with secondary structures. In the latter scenario, which is appropriate when these structures are much more stable than pseudoknot links, probability distributions for the lengths of both loops and main branches obey scaling with nonclassical exponents.
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