On edge-colored interior planar graphs on a circle and the expected number of RNA secondary structures (Q1917246)

The authors consider a mathematical model of RNA molecules as a family of disjoint edge-colored interior planar graphs on a cirle. Using the model, they determine the expected number of secondary RNA structures (sets of bonded nucleotide pairs) under various constraints on the type and the number of bonds allowed. All calculations are given under the assumption that the primary RNA structure (sequence of bases) is chosen randomly.