A melt plot shows how many
bases are
unpaired at different temperatures for a particular RNA
sequence; note that different RNA sequences will have different melt plots. At high enough temperatures, all RNA sequences will have 100% of their bases unpaired. But at lower temperatures, only some of the bases will be unpaired - these unpaired bases belong to
loops,
bulges, and
dangling ends.
The melt plot describes how an RNA unfolds as temperature increases.
Teaching about melt plots
See also