A Comprehensive Database of Nucleic Acid Structure

This award will support the continued development of the Nucleic Acid Database, a database of three-dimensional structures of nucleic acids and their intermolecular complexes. The goal is to devise an easily accessible and user friendly resource that serves a broad group of nucleic acid researchers. It is anticipated that the users of the database will include not only structural analysts such as crystallographers, theorists, and NMR spectroscopists, but also physical chemists who study macroscopic phenomena and molecular biologists who focus on the biological properties of these molecules. Substantial progress has been made in meeting the goal set three years ago in establishing the database; the available crystallographic data have been assembled, software has been developed to process and access the data, and the information is distributed electronically. The focus now is to make the database into a powerful research tool by providing methods for structure validation and structure prediction while at the same time making the primary and derivative data available to the scientific community.