Sampling globally and locally correct RNA 3D structures using ERNWIN, SPQR and experimental SAXS data

Abstract

The determination of the three-dimensional structure of large RNA macromolecules in solution is a challenging task that often requires the use of several experimental and computational techniques. Small-angle X-ray spectroscopy can provide insight into some geometrical properties of the probed molecule, but this data must be properly interpreted in order to generate a three-dimensional model. Here, we propose a multiscale pipeline which introduces SAXS data into modelling the global shape of RNA in solution, which can be hierarchically refined until reaching atomistic precision in explicit solvent. The low-resolution helix model (ERNWIN) deals with the exploration of the huge conformational space making use of the SAXS data, while a nucleotide-level model (SPQR) removes clashes and disentangles the proposed structures, leading the structure to an all-atom representation in explicit solvent. We apply the procedure on five different structures up to 126 nucleotides with promising results.