Bonnie Kirkpatrick
Guang Song, Graduate Student Mentor
Dr. Nancy Amato, Faculty Mentor
Computer Science
RNA is manufactured as a long chain of molecules. Then the chain folds
in two dimensions forming loops. Although the structure of these loops
is well understood, we know less about the folding process itself.
We are applying a robotic motion planning technique known as the
probabilistic roadmap (PRM) method to the study of RNA folding.
Previously, we have applied this technique to protein folding and obtained
very encouraging results. The PRM method provides us with a sketch of the
folding landscape of protein. This landscape includes information about
the thermodynamics and kinetics of the folding process.
By using a similar method on RNA, we will be able to look at the
global properties of folding. The order of structure formation and
features such as energy barriers are properties that we hope to study from
our sketch of the folding landscape. Our methods will provide a window
into the folding of RNA for which there are no experimental results.
For comments or questions, email bkirk@cs.tamu.edu.
Texas A & M University
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