Biological Physics Seminars 2023: Dr Nora Martin
The effect of mutations on folded RNA structures: thermodynamic principles, indels and evolving populations
Dr Nora Martin, Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics,
University of Oxford
Friday, 26 May, 10:00, DCHB Phase 2 Seminar Room (20-138) (coffee and tea provided)
Abstract:
Variation, i.e. the molecular and phenotypic changes caused by random mutations, is a crucial component of evolutionary processes. One biologically relevant example for which variation can be modelled computationally is the RNA genotype-phenotype (GP) map. This GP map links RNA sequences to their folded secondary structures and thus allows us to identify structural changes after sequence mutations. In this talk, I will describe some recent progress on the biophysics of this GP map and its implications for evolutionary processes.
