RNAMotifProfile: a graph-based approach to build RNA structural motif profiles

RNA structural motifs are the recurrent segments in RNA three-dimensional structures that play a crucial role in the functional diversity of RNAs. Understanding the similarities and variations within these recurrent motif groups is essential for gaining insights into RNA structure and function. While recurrent structural motifs are generally assumed to be composed of the same isosteric base interactions, this consistent pattern is not observed across all examples of these motifs. Existing methods for analyzing and comparing RNA structural motifs may overlook variations in base interactions and associated nucleotides. RNAMotifProfile is a novel profile-to-profile alignment algorithm that generates a comprehensive profile from a group of structural motifs, incorporating all base interactions and associated nucleotides at each position. By structurally aligning input motif instances using a guide-tree-based approach, RNAMotifProfile captures the similarities and variations within recurrent motif groups. Additionally, RNAMotifProfile can function as a motif search tool, enabling the identification of instances of a specific motif family by searching with the corresponding profile. The ability to generate accurate and comprehensive profiles for RNA structural motif families, and to search for these motifs, facilitates a deeper understanding of RNA structure-function relationships and potential applications in RNA engineering and therapeutic design.