RNAdt: An online tutorial and data portal for the RNA structurome era

Area of Science:

• Molecular Biology
• Bioinformatics
• Genomics

Background:

• RNA plays critical roles beyond genetic information transport, influencing gene expression, catalysis, and cellular responses.
• RNA's function is intrinsically linked to its complex secondary and tertiary structures, which arise from base pairing and environmental factors.
• Understanding RNA structure is crucial for elucidating its diverse biological roles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the challenge of selecting appropriate high-throughput sequencing (HTS)-associated RNA structure probing methods.
• To develop a user-friendly resource consolidating information on existing HTS RNA structure probing techniques.
• To facilitate the exploration of the RNA structurome and its connection to biological functions.

Main Methods:

• Compilation of currently available HTS-associated RNA structure probing methods.
• Development of RNAdt, a web-based platform accessible at http://www.zhounan.org/rnadt.
• Integration of tutorial functionalities for learning fundamental knowledge and a data portal for accessing structurome studies.

Main Results:

• RNAdt provides a centralized, accessible resource for researchers.
• The platform serves as both an educational tool and a data repository for RNA structurome studies.
• Perspectives on future developments in RNA structure probing are included.

Conclusions:

• RNAdt is expected to simplify the selection of RNA structure probing methods.
• The resource aims to advance RNA structure probing and deepen the understanding of structure-function relationships.
• Facilitating RNA structurome research will ultimately elucidate RNA's role in biological systems.