COMPARATIVE-STUDIES OF RNA - INFERRING HIGHER-ORDER STRUCTURE FROM PATTERNS OF SEQUENCE VARIATION

RNA structural chemistry and evolutionary biology, long considered disparate fields of study, are the topics of this review. Evolution transcends all of the sciences, adding a dimension that enriches every science it touches, and in its enrichment of those fields contributes back to evolutionary thought. RNA, on the other hand, is a molecule with an inordinate number of possible conformations; knowing which to evaluate experimentally is problematic. Analysis of RNA sequences from an evolutionary perspective reveals patterns of variation and sequence constraints, and suggests how an RNA sequence is folded up into its higher-order structure.