RNA folding and large N matrix theory

2001/06/20 by Henri Orland, H. Orland, A. Zee · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Physics and Astronomy · #Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology #RNA Research and Splicing #RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms #cond-mat.soft #cond-mat.stat-mech #hep-th #physics.bio-ph #q-bio

paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/s0550-3213(01)00522-3

published as Nucl.Phys. B620 (2002) 456-476 · 29 pages (LaTex), 13 figures (eps). Missing paragraph and figure added

arxiv created 2001/06/20 · openalex publication_date 2002/01/01 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

We formulate the RNA folding problem as an N× N matrix field theory. This matrix formalism allows us to give a systematic classification of the terms in the partition function according to their topological character. The theory is set up in such a way that the limit N→ ∞ yields the so-called secondary structure (Hartree theory). Tertiary structure and pseudo-knots are obtained by calculating the 1/N² corrections to the partition function. We propose a generalization of the Hartree recursion relation to generate the tertiary structure.

Citations

• Fast folding and comparison of RNA secondary structures
• On the role of magnesium ions in RNA stability
• A planar diagram theory for strong interactions

Cited by

• Systematic Field Theory of the RNA Glass Transition