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Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Analyzing and Building Nucleic Acid Structures with 3DNA
Published on: April 26, 2013
The combination of symbolic and numerical computation for three-dimensional modeling of RNA
F Major1, M Turcotte, D Gautheret
1Département d'Informatique et de Recherche Opérationnelle, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Abstract:
Three-dimensional (3-D) structural models of RNA are essential for understanding of the cellular roles played by RNA. Such models have been obtained by a technique based on a constraint satisfaction algorithm that allows for the facile incorporation of secondary and other structural information. The program generates 3-D structures of RNA with atomic-level resolution that can be refined by numerical techniques such as energy minimization. The precision of this technique was evaluated by comparing predicted transfer RNA loop and RNA pseudoknot structures with known or consensus structures. The root-mean-square deviation (2.0 to 3.0 angstroms before minimization) between predicted and control structures reveal this system to be an effective method in modeling RNA.
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