DNATCO: assignment of DNA conformers at dnatco.org

Abstract

The web service DNATCO (dnatco.org) classifies local conformations of DNA molecules beyond their traditional sorting to A, B and Z DNA forms. DNATCO provides an interface to robust algorithms assigning conformation classes called ntC to dinucleotides extracted from DNA-containing structures uploaded in PDB format version 3.1 or above. The assigned dinucleotide ntC classes are further grouped into DNA structural alphabet ntA, to the best of our knowledge the first DNA structural alphabet. The results are presented at two levels: in the form of user friendly visualization and analysis of the assignment, and in the form of a downloadable, more detailed table for further analysis offline. The website is free and open to all users and there is no login requirement.