Bioinformatics: Genomics: RNA secondary structure

Bioinformatics: Genomics: RNA secondary structure

As proteins can have a complex structures, RNAs too, because a major advance in biology in the 1970s had shown that RNAs can have a complex 2D and even 3D structures.

The good thing to hear is that RNAs obey folding patterns or laws that are much simpler then the complex protein folding laws.

In order for an RNA molecule to work, it has to be protected from solvents, to do that, RNA bases pair themselves with other bases, this pairing forms RNA secondary structure.

When the two RNA stretches (we're talking about one RNA molecule) are perfectly compatible, or complementary to each other, they form what's called STEM.

Note: STEMs don't have to be 100% compatible, so we can find also unpaired residues.

When the stretches aren't compatible they form what's called a LOOP.

Tertiary interactions may also occur in an RNA molecule, but its very difficult to predict there tertiary interactions.

Any comments you're welcome.