title: Modelling the secondary structures of slippage-prone hypervariable RNA regions: the example of the tiger beetle 18S rRNA variable region V4.
abstract: Variable regions within ribosomal RNAs frequently vary in length as a result of incorporating products of slippage. This makes constructing secondary structure models problematic because base homology is difficult or impossible to establish between species. Here, we model such a region by comparing the results of the MFOLD suboptimal folding algorithm for different species to identify conserved structures. Based on the reconstruction of base change on a phylogenetic tree of the species and comparison against null models of character change, we devise a statistical analysis to assess support of these structures from compensatory and semi-compensatory (i.e. G.C to G.U or A.U to G.U) mutations. As a model system we have used variable region V4 from cicindelid (tiger beetle) small subunit ribosomal RNAs (SSU rRNAs). This consists of a mixture of conserved and highly variable subregions and has been subject to extensive comparative analysis in the past. The model that results is similar to a previously described model of this variable region derived from a different set of species and contains a novel structure in the central, highly variable part. The method we describe may be useful in modelling other RNA regions that are subject to slippage.
authors.affiliation: Gene and Genome Evolution Group, Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0NN, UK. jhancock@rpms.ac.uk
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hancock
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Vogler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000235:genetics*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D010802:Phylogeny; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D012984:Software
chemical_list: D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S