Algebraic characterisation of non-coding RNA

Process calculi have been proved to be a powerful tool for describing biological processes. They allowed us to study the folding process of RNAs and proteins and identify an abstraction level at which these two classes of molecules are behaviourally equivalent and perform functions of the same complexity. In this work, we go one step further, by exploring the expressiveness of process algebras in modelling the functions representing the behaviour of non-coding RNA molecules; the characterisation of the RNA catalytic activity defines a congruence class. Basing on these results, we propose a methodology suitable to generate an algebraic specification of a multiagent simulation. This approach is designed not only for theoretical purposes, but mostly to support the study of cellular processes and pathologies involving non-coding RNAs, by constructing agent-based models and validating hypotheses through model simulation. It might equally promote the development of future applications of non-coding RNA mediated inhibition of influenza infections.