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2000: An RNA Odyssey
by
Paul Gardner
Massey University
Coauthors: David Penny, Geoffrey Jameson
Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are believed by many to be relics of ancient RNA based life-forms that preceded the modern day DNA/protein based life that currently infest Earth. The genes coding for ncRNAs do not code for proteins as most genes do. Instead they produce functional RNA. The most commonly known ncRNAs are ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), transfer RNAs (tRNAs), and small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs). However new and exciting ncRNAs are still being discovered such as Rnase P RNA, telomerase RNA, meiRNA, bacterial tmRNA and bacteriophage f 29 RNA.
The usual methods for locating protein genes fail when applied to ncRNAs. The statistically based similarity searching protein methods (e.g. BLAST and FASTA) rely heavily upon sequence conservation between sequences from the same family. These methods fail because many ncRNAs conserve a consensus secondary structure more than they conserve a primary sequence. Therefore sequence alignment methods are ineffective when applied to ncRNAs.
This talk will include a general introduction to RNA secondary structure and its prediction, and possible methods for locating ncRNAs within a newly sequenced genome.
Date received: October 17, 2000
Copyright © 2000 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # caek-64.