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Updated: Jan 25, 2026

RNA Secondary Structure Prediction Using High-throughput SHAPE
Published on: May 31, 2013
3D based on 2D: Calculating helix angles and stacking patterns using forgi 2.0, an RNA Python library centered on
Bernhard C Thiel1, Irene K Beckmann1, Peter Kerpedjiev2
1Department of Theoretical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria.
None:
We present forgi, a Python library to analyze the tertiary structure of RNA secondary structure elements. Our representation of an RNA molecule is centered on secondary structure elements (stems, bulges and loops). By fitting a cylinder to the helix axis, these elements are carried over into a coarse-grained 3D structure representation. Integration with Biopython allows for handling of all-atom 3D information. forgi can deal with a variety of file formats including dotbracket strings, PDB and MMCIF files. We can handle modified residues, missing residues, cofold and multifold structures as well as nucleotide numbers starting at arbitrary positions. We apply this library to the study of stacking helices in junctions and pseudoknots and investigate how far stacking helices in solved experimental structures can divert from coaxial geometries.
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