RNA 3D structure modeling by fragment assembly with small-angle X-ray scattering restraints

Bioinformatics. 2023 Sep 2;39(9):btad527. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btad527.

Abstract

Summary: Structure determination is a key step in the functional characterization of many non-coding RNA molecules. High-resolution RNA 3D structure determination efforts, however, are not keeping up with the pace of discovery of new non-coding RNA sequences. This increases the importance of computational approaches and low-resolution experimental data, such as from the small-angle X-ray scattering experiments. We present RNA Masonry, a computer program and a web service for a fully automated modeling of RNA 3D structures. It assemblies RNA fragments into geometrically plausible models that meet user-provided secondary structure constraints, restraints on tertiary contacts, and small-angle X-ray scattering data. We illustrate the method description with detailed benchmarks and its application to structural studies of viral RNAs with SAXS restraints.

Availability and implementation: The program web server is available at http://iimcb.genesilico.pl/rnamasonry. The source code is available at https://gitlab.com/gchojnowski/rnamasonry.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • RNA, Untranslated*
  • RNA, Viral*
  • Scattering, Small Angle
  • X-Ray Diffraction
  • X-Rays

Substances

  • RNA, Viral
  • RNA, Untranslated