Making nucleic acid structures and schematics

So far in this series, a major focus has been on protein structures, modifications, and interactions. In this TrendsTalk, the eighth installment of the Special series: Scientific figure development, we focus on a different macromolecule of vital importance in biochemistry - nucleic acids with emphasis on RNA. Recent TIBS authors have addressed questions including the following: what aspects do you consider when generating such a figure? How do you decide how to represent the nucleic acid structure (i.e., level of detail, style, color, modifications, etc.)? What program(s) do you prefer for generating such figures, and why? Contributing to this article are Lien Lai and Venkat Gopalan, coauthors and primary authors of 'The many faces of RNA -based RNase P, an RNA-world relic' [1] (Figure 1); Martin Jansson, primary author of 'Translational control through ribosome heterogeneity and functional specialization' [2] (Figure 2); Qi Chen and Xudong Zhang, cor-responding and coauthors of 'Origins and evolving functionalities of tRNA-derived small RNAs' [3] (Figure 1); and Maik Wolfram-Schauerte and Katharina Hofer, first and primary authors of 'NAD-capped RNAs - a redox cofactor meets RNA' [4] (e.g., Figure 2).

Automated summary

This article focuses on the importance of nucleic acids in biochemistry, specifically RNA, and discusses the generation of figures representing their structures. Several authors provide insights into the factors to consider when creating such figures, preferred software, and examples from their own research.