Threading, protein structure

Ithough knowledge-based potentials are most popular, it is also possible to use other types potential function. Some of these are more firmly rooted in the fundamental physics of iteratomic interactions whereas others do not necessarily have any physical interpretation all but are able to discriminate the correct fold from decoy structures. These decoy ructures are generated so as to satisfy the basic principles of protein structure such as a ose-packed, hydrophobic core [Park and Levitt 1996]. The fold library is also clearly nportant in threading. For practical purposes the library should obviously not be too irge, but it should be as representative of the different protein folds as possible. To erive a fold database one would typically first use a relatively fast sequence comparison lethod in conjunction with cluster analysis to identify families of homologues, which are ssumed to have the same fold. A sequence identity threshold of about 30% is commonly... 

Bryant S H and C E Lawrence 1993. An Empirical Energy Function for Threading Protein Sequences Through the Folding Motif. Proteins Structure, Punction and Genetics 16 92-112. 

Approaches of de novo predictions, which try to calculate how the structural elements are folded into the 3D-stmcture (tertiary structure) of complete proteins are nowadays far away from reliable large-scale applications. On the other, hand this topic is under strong development indicated by recent successful results at the contest for structural prediction methods CASP4. With the fast growing number of experimentally solved 3D-stmctures of protein and new promising approaches like threading tools combined with experimental structural constraints, one can expect more reliable de novo predictions for 3D-protein structures in the future. 

In the nucleus of each cell, the DNA molecule is packaged into thread-like structures called chromosomes. Each chromosome is made up of DNA tightly coiled many times around proteins called histones that support its structure. 

Scientists carry out searches on databases. Each EST of interest can be compared with sequences in proteins, and the degree of match can be determined. A technique called threading is used. This involves using data on three-dimensional (3D) protein structure, coupled with knowledge of the physicochemical properties of amino acids, to determine if the amino acid sequence is likely to fold in the same way as a sequence for which the structure is known. In this way, more information about the putative target protein can be assessed. 

Chromosomes— Thread-like structure in cells made of protein and DNA that carries genetic information. 

A major problem in predicting protein structure is the computational intractability. A short, 100-residue protein will contain at least 100 side-chain-to-side-chain or side-chain-to-solvent interactions. The orientation of each of these interactions will lead to cascading effects throughout the protein. Comparative modeling, threading algorithms, and de novo predictions seek to predict protein structure in reasonable execution times. 

Keywords Genetic algorithm Protein structure prediction Evolutionary algorithms Alignment Threading... 

Another approach is to map the arrangement of secondary structural elements onto the known tertiary structures of other proteins. Currently, approximately one hundred unique protein folds have been identified. There is some question as to if this is an upper limit. If this is indeed the case, then the protein of unknown structure must adopt a known topological fold. The secondary structural elements are mapped onto the template of the different known protein structures. The best fits, as judged by the environmental factors (solvent accessibility) of the individual amino acids, are then further analyzed as probable folds. This procedure is referred to as threading the secondary elements into three-dimensional structures [28],... 

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