Abstract
The BPS (http://bps.rutgers.edu) is a database of RNA base-pair structures, higher-order base interactions and isosteric pairs (base pairs with similar shape). The main functions of the BPS are to find and annotate the structural and chemical features of the Watson-Crick and non-Watson-Crick (noncanonical) base pairs in high-resolution RNA structures, and to provide a user-friendly interface to browse and search for the base pairs. The current database contains 91,265 bp and 3386 higher-order base interactions from 426 RNA crystal structures and 61,819 bp that fall into one of 17 different isosteric classes. The base-pair data can be accessed by searches of base-pair patterns, structure identifiers (IDs) and structural types. The BPS also includes an Atlas with representative images of the various base pairs, higher-order base interactions and isosteric pairs and links to statistical information about these groups of structures.