RDMAS: A web server for RNA deleterious mutation analysis

Abstract

Background: The diverse functions of ncRNAs critically depend on their structures. Mutations in ncRNAs disrupting the structures of functional sites are expected to be deleterious. RNA deleterious mutations have attracted wide attentions because some of them in cells result in serious disease, and some others in microbes influence their fitness. Results: The RDMAS web server we describe here is an online tool for evaluating structural deleteriousness of single nucleoticle mutation in RNA genes. Several structure comparison methods have been integrated; sub-optimal structures predicted can be optionally involved to mitigate the uncertainty of secondary structure prediction. With a user-friendly interface, the web application is easy to use. Intuitive illustrations are provided along with the original computational results to facilitate quick analysis. Conclusion: RDMAS can be used to explore the structure alterations which cause mutations pathogenic, and to predict deleterious mutations which may help to determine the functionally critical regions. RDMAS is freely accessed via http://biosrvl.bmi.ac.cn/rdmas. © 2006 Shu et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.