Hi Pascal,
The "-p" option of
find_pair is for pairwise checking of all possible base-pairs, and for identifying higher-order base associations as demonstrated in the 2008 3DNA NP paper (Recipe no. 5). It was
not intended to be used with
analyze, as I initially added the option there. The "-z" option, on the other hand, was mostly used to decide suitable criteria of which base-pair should be included in a helical region. Its output information is far too technical for outside users.
Regarding the output parameters from the "-p" option, the header section should be of some help:
[pre:byvny7l4]Six-line information for each base-pair as follows:
#1: Overall serial number, local serial number, paired residue numbers,
detailed pairing residue information.
#2: One-letter base-pair followed by six base-pair parameters (shear,
stretch, stagger, buckle, propeller, opening). The parameters are
with respect to the Watson-Crick base reference frame. There are
two types of base-pair orientation: M-N means the two bases have
opposite orientations as in Watson-Crick base-pair; M+N means the
two bases have the same local orientations as in Hoogsteen base-
pair. All possible base pairing patterns can then be classified
based on the six parameters, among which shear, stretch and opening
are most discriminative.
#3: H-bonding information (atom pair followed by their distance).
#4: Overall classification of the base-pair (anti-parallel vs parallel
based on relative z-axis of the two bases, cis vs trans based on
x-axis and C1-RN9/YN1 directions).
#5: Relative directions of the three axes and their numerical values.
The last 3 numbers are the angles between the glycosidic bonds, and
the two chi torsion angles.
#6: The actual parameters used to locate the base-pair in question.[/pre:byvny7l4]
Some of the undocumented features of 3DNA are experimental or are related to still unpublished work. I am hoping to be able to devote more efforts to research on nucleic acid structures, but it all depends.
Xiang-Jun
[hr:byvny7l4][/hr:byvny7l4]
PS. BTW, isn't
FR3D sufficient for tasks related to the identification and classification of base-pairs? The FR3D webpage contains tons of information; some of which you may find helpful.