Dataset Information

Evaluation of the suitability of free-energy minimization using nearest-neighbor energy parameters for RNA secondary structure prediction.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:A detailed understanding of an RNA's correct secondary and tertiary structure is crucial to understanding its function and mechanism in the cell. Free energy minimization with energy parameters based on the nearest-neighbor model and comparative analysis are the primary methods for predicting an RNA's secondary structure from its sequence. Version 3.1 of Mfold has been available since 1999. This version contains an expanded sequence dependence of energy parameters and the ability to incorporate coaxial stacking into free energy calculations. We test Mfold 3.1 by performing the largest and most phylogenetically diverse comparison of rRNA and tRNA structures predicted by comparative analysis and Mfold, and we use the results of our tests on 16S and 23S rRNA sequences to assess the improvement between Mfold 2.3 and Mfold 3.1. RESULTS:The average prediction accuracy for a 16S or 23S rRNA sequence with Mfold 3.1 is 41%, while the prediction accuracies for the majority of 16S and 23S rRNA structures tested are between 20% and 60%, with some having less than 20% prediction accuracy. The average prediction accuracy was 71% for 5S rRNA and 69% for tRNA. The majority of the 5S rRNA and tRNA sequences have prediction accuracies greater than 60%. The prediction accuracy of 16S rRNA base-pairs decreases exponentially as the number of nucleotides intervening between the 5' and 3' halves of the base-pair increases. CONCLUSION:Our analysis indicates that the current set of nearest-neighbor energy parameters in conjunction with the Mfold folding algorithm are unable to consistently and reliably predict an RNA's correct secondary structure. For 16S or 23S rRNA structure prediction, Mfold 3.1 offers little improvement over Mfold 2.3. However, the nearest-neighbor energy parameters do work well for shorter RNA sequences such as tRNA or 5S rRNA, or for larger rRNAs when the contact distance between the base-pairs is less than 100 nucleotides.

SUBMITTER: Doshi KJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC514602 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Evaluation of the suitability of free-energy minimization using nearest-neighbor energy parameters for RNA secondary structure prediction.

Doshi Kishore J KJ Cannone Jamie J JJ Cobaugh Christian W CW Gutell Robin R RR

BMC bioinformatics 20040805

<h4>Background</h4>A detailed understanding of an RNA's correct secondary and tertiary structure is crucial to understanding its function and mechanism in the cell. Free energy minimization with energy parameters based on the nearest-neighbor model and comparative analysis are the primary methods for predicting an RNA's secondary structure from its sequence. Version 3.1 of Mfold has been available since 1999. This version contains an expanded sequence dependence of energy parameters and the abil ...[more]

PMID: 15296519

Similar Datasets

Project description:Quantifying interactions in DNA microarrays is of central importance for a better understanding of their functioning. Hybridization thermodynamics for nucleic acid strands in aqueous solution can be described by the so-called nearest-neighbor model, which estimates the hybridization free energy of a given sequence as a sum of dinucleotide terms. Compared with its solution counterparts, hybridization in DNA microarrays may be hindered due to the presence of a solid surface and of a high density of DNA strands. We present here a study aimed at the determination of hybridization free energies in DNA microarrays. Experiments are performed on custom Agilent slides. The solution contains a single oligonucleotide. The microarray contains spots with a perfect matching complementary sequence and other spots with one or two mismatches: in total 1006 different probe spots, each replicated 15 times per microarray. The free energy parameters are directly fitted from microarray data. The experiments demonstrate a clear correlation between hybridization free energies in the microarray and in solution. The experiments are fully consistent with the Langmuir model at low intensities, but show a clear deviation at intermediate (non-saturating) intensities. These results provide new interesting insights for the quantification of molecular interactions in DNA microarrays. Keywords: experiment to assess technical aspects of hybridization in microarrays The study consists of four experiments. Each experiments consists of one slide with eight identical microarrays which were hybridized with an identical solution but at a different concentration. Per experiment a single target sequence in solution was used for hybridization: target1 to target4 (Table 1 main manuscript or description of samples below). Each target oligo was bought in duplicate, referred to as oligos a and b. In experiment 1 and 2 a fragmentation step (f) was applied. More details can be found in the main manuscript especially Table 3.

Dataset Information

Evaluation of the suitability of free-energy minimization using nearest-neighbor energy parameters for RNA secondary structure prediction.

Publications

Evaluation of the suitability of free-energy minimization using nearest-neighbor energy parameters for RNA secondary structure prediction.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets