RNA2DMap: A Visual Exploration Tool of the Information in RNA's Higher-Order Structure

A new and emerging paradigm in molecular biology is revealing that RNA is implicated in nearly every aspect of the metabolism in the cell. To enhance our understanding of the function of these RNA molecules in the cell, it is essential that we have a complete understanding of their higher-order structures. While many computational tools have been developed to predict and analyse these higher-order RNA structures, few are able to visualize them for analytical purposes. In this paper, we present an interactive visualization tool of the secondary structure of RNA, named RNA2DMap. This program enables multiple-dimensions of information about RNA structure to be selected, customized and displayed to visually identify patterns and relationships. RNA2DMap facilitates the comparative analysis and understanding of RNAs that cannot be readily obtained with other graphical or text output from computer programs. Three use cases are presented to illustrate how RNA2DMap aids structural analysis.