Sequence of proteins

The protein folding problem is the task of understanding and predicting how the information coded in the amino acid sequence of proteins at the time of their formation translates into the 3-dimensional structure of the biologically active protein. A thorough recent survey of the problems involved from a mathematical point of view is given by Neumaier [22]. 

The SWISS-PROT database [36] release 40.44 (February, 2003) contains over 120 000 sequences of proteins with more than 44 million amino adds abstracted from about 100 000 references. Besides sequence data, bibHographical references, and taxonomy data, there are highly valuable annotations of information (e.g., protein function), a minimal level of redundancy, and a high level of integration with other databases (EMBL, PDB, PIR, etc.). The database was initiated in 1987 by a partnership between the Department of Medicinal Biochemistry of the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and the EMBL. Now SWISS-PROT is driven as a joint project of the EMBL and the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB). 

Recombinant DNA techniques have provided tools for the rapid determination of DNA sequences and, by inference, the amino acid sequences of proteins from structural genes. The number of such sequences is now increasing almost exponentially, but by themselves these sequences tell little more about the biology of the system than a New York City telephone directory tells about the function and marvels of that city. 

The basic structural unit of these two-sheet p helix structures contains 18 amino acids, three in each p strand and six in each loop. A specific amino acid sequence pattern identifies this unit namely a double repeat of a nine-residue consensus sequence Gly-Gly-X-Gly-X-Asp-X-U-X where X is any amino acid and U is large, hydrophobic and frequently leucine. The first six residues form the loop and the last three form a p strand with the side chain of U involved in the hydrophobic packing of the two p sheets. The loops are stabilized by calcium ions which bind to the Asp residue (Figure S.28). This sequence pattern can be used to search for possible two-sheet p structures in databases of amino acid sequences of proteins of unknown structure. 

The unique characteristic of each protein is the distinctive sequence of amino acid residues in its polypeptide chain(s). Indeed, it is the amino acid sequence of proteins that is encoded by the nucleotide sequence of DNA. This amino acid sequence, then, is a form of genetic information. By convention, the amino acid sequence is read from the N-terminal end of the polypeptide chain through to the C-terminal end. As an example, every molecule of ribonucle-... 

The primary sequence of proteins, with identical function varies within different species by natural mutations of amino acids. With increasing distance in the evolutionary process the number of variations between the sequences of proteins increase. 

Sequences of proteins containing Rieske-type clusters have been deduced from the complete operons of several dioxygenases these dioxygenases require electrons from NAD(P)H to convert aromatic compounds to cis-arene diols. The water-soluble dioxygenase systems consist of a reductase and a terminal dioxygenase many dioxygenases also contain a [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin (20). The terminal oxygenases contain a Rieske-type cluster and the ferredoxins may contain either a Rieske-type or a 4-cysteine coordinated [2Fe-2S] cluster. 

Wilm, M., Shevchenko, A., Houthaeve, T., Breit, S., Schweigerer, L., Fotsis, T., and Mann, M. (1996). Femtomole sequencing of proteins from polyacrylamide gels by nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry. Nature 379, 466-469. 

Single-base substitutions, which affect the amino acid sequence of proteins and lead to altered protein function, are the most frequent type of polymorphisms associated with many disease phenotypes as well as with variation in drag response... 

Lindley, H. (1956) A new synthetic substrate for trypsin and its application to the determination of the amino acid sequence of proteins. Nature (London) 178, 647. 

M. Wilm, A. Shevchenko, T. Houthaeve, S. Breit, L. Schweigerer, T. Fotsis, and M. Mann. Femtomole Sequencing of Proteins from Polyacrylamide Gels by Nano-Electrospray Mass Spectrometry. Nature, 379(1996) 466-469. 

In recent years, a novel approach to protein identification emerged, called top-down sequencing. Here the entire nondigested protein is analyzed. Apart from accurate MW measurement, the protein ion is fragmented by the electron capture dissociation (ECD) method (see Chapter 3). This provides in-depth information on the sequence of protein. Such analysis can be performed only with FTICR instruments (see Section 2.2.6) that ensure high resolution and accuracy but, at the same time, they are exceptionally expensive. However, as very large ions are analyzed, even the high accuracy of FTICR is sometimes not sufficient, and it is recommended that such analyses are accompanied by more traditional bottom-up approaches. 

Whereas DNA is mostly located in the nucleus of cells in higher organisms (with some also in mitochondria and in plant chloroplasts), RNA comes in three major and distinct forms, each of which plays a crucial role in protein biosynthesis in the cytoplasm. These are, respectively, ribosomal RNA (rRNA), which represents two-thirds of the mass of the ribosome, messenger RNA (mRNA), which encodes the information for the sequence of proteins, and transfer RNAs (tRNAs) which serve as adaptor molecules, allowing the 4-letter code of nucleic acids to be translated into the 20-letter code of proteins. These latter molecules contain a substantial number of modified bases, which are introduced enzymatically. 

Allen, G. (1989) Sequencing of proteins and peptides. In Burdon, R.M. and van Knippenberg, P.H. (eds) Laboratory techniques in biochemistry and molecular biology, Vol. 9, 2nd revised edition, Elsevier, USA. 

Shevchenko A., Wilm M., Vorm O., and Mann M. (1996), Mass spectrometric sequencing of proteins from silver stained polyacrylamide gels, Anal. Chem. 68, 850-858. 

Most of the genetic information stored in the genome codes for the amino acid sequences of proteins. For these proteins to be expressed, a text in nucleic acid language therefore has to be translated into protein language. This is the origin of the use of the term translation to describe protein biosynthesis. The dictionary used for the translation is the genetic code. 

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