Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026

10:34
Probing RNA Structure with Dimethyl Sulfate Mutational Profiling with Sequencing In Vitro and in Cells
Published on: December 9, 2022
Methods for multiple alignment and consensus structure prediction of RNAs implemented in MARNA
1Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Computer Science, Albert-Ludwigs-University-Freiburg.
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|November 13, 2007
Summary
MARNA provides a novel method for multiple RNA alignment, integrating both sequence and secondary structure information. This approach addresses key challenges in RNA analysis, enabling more accurate homology modeling and motif discovery.
Area of Science:
- Bioinformatics
- Computational Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Multiple RNA alignments are crucial for downstream analyses like homology modeling and motif identification.
- Existing methods often struggle to integrate sequence and structural RNA information effectively.
- Challenges include combining pairwise alignments and inferring missing structural data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce MARNA, a novel computational approach for multiple RNA alignment.
- To address the limitations of current methods in handling both sequence and secondary structure data.
- To provide a tool for generating consensus RNA sequences and structures.
Main Methods:
- MARNA utilizes a pairwise sequence-structure comparison strategy to generate weighted alignment edges.
- A consistency-based multiple alignment method processes these weighted edges.
- The approach integrates primary sequence and secondary structure information for alignment.
Main Results:
- MARNA successfully performs multiple RNA alignments considering both sequence and structure.
- The method generates a consensus sequence and structure from the multiple alignment.
- MARNA offers a solution for handling RNA sequences with missing structural information.
Conclusions:
- MARNA presents an effective method for multiple RNA alignment by incorporating structural data.
- The tool facilitates advanced RNA analyses by providing accurate alignments and consensus structures.
- MARNA is accessible online for researchers in bioinformatics and related fields.
Related Concept Videos
RNA Structure
Overview
The basic structure of RNA consists of a five-carbon sugar and one of four nitrogenous bases. Although most RNA is single-stranded, it can form complex secondary and tertiary structures. Such structures play essential roles in the regulation of transcription and translation.
Different Types of RNA Have the Same Basic Structure
There are three main types of ribonucleic acid (RNA): messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA). All three RNA types consist of a...
The basic structure of RNA consists of a five-carbon sugar and one of four nitrogenous bases. Although most RNA is single-stranded, it can form complex secondary and tertiary structures. Such structures play essential roles in the regulation of transcription and translation.
Different Types of RNA Have the Same Basic Structure
There are three main types of ribonucleic acid (RNA): messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA). All three RNA types consist of a...
RNA Structure
The basic structure of RNA consists of a string of ribonucleotides attached by phosphodiester bonds. Although most RNA is single-stranded, it can form complex secondary and tertiary structures. Such structures play essential roles in the regulation of transcription and translation.
Different Types of RNA Have the Same Basic Structure
There are three main types of ribonucleic acid (RNA) involved in protein synthesis: messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA). All three...
Different Types of RNA Have the Same Basic Structure
There are three main types of ribonucleic acid (RNA) involved in protein synthesis: messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA). All three...
RNA Structure
Overview
The basic structure of RNA consists of a five-carbon sugar and one of four nitrogenous bases. Although most RNA is single-stranded, it can form complex secondary and tertiary structures. Such structures play essential roles in the regulation of transcription and translation.
Different Types of RNA Have the Same Basic Structure
There are three main types of ribonucleic acid (RNA): messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA). All three RNA types consist of a...
The basic structure of RNA consists of a five-carbon sugar and one of four nitrogenous bases. Although most RNA is single-stranded, it can form complex secondary and tertiary structures. Such structures play essential roles in the regulation of transcription and translation.
Different Types of RNA Have the Same Basic Structure
There are three main types of ribonucleic acid (RNA): messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA). All three RNA types consist of a...
RNA-seq
RNA sequencing, or RNA-Seq, is a high-throughput sequencing technology used to study the transcriptome of a cell. Transcriptomics helps to interpret the functional elements of a genome and identify the molecular constituents of an organism. Additionally, it also helps in understanding the development of an organism and the occurrence of diseases.
Before the discovery of RNA-seq, microarray-based methods and Sanger sequencing were used for transcriptome analysis. However, while microarray-based...
Before the discovery of RNA-seq, microarray-based methods and Sanger sequencing were used for transcriptome analysis. However, while microarray-based...
Genome Annotation and Assembly
The genome refers to all of the genetic material in an organism. It can range from a few million base pairs in microbial cells to several billion base pairs in many eukaryotic organisms. Genome assembly refers to the process of taking the DNA sequencing data and putting it all back together in a correct order to create a close representation of the original genome. This is followed by the identification of functional elements on the newly assembled genome, a process called genome annotation.
RACE - Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends
Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends, or RACE, is one of the most effective methods to obtain a full-length cDNA from an mRNA sequence between a known internal region to the unknown sequence at the 5’ or 3’ end. The unknown region is cloned in the cDNA by a gene-specific primer that binds the known end, and a hybrid primer that attaches a predefined anchor sequence to the unknown end of the cDNA. The sequence in between is amplified by PCR with an anchor primer and a gene-specific primer.
Since the...
Since the...

