Protein structure and function: Methods for prediction and analysis

A Journal of Postdoctoral Research.

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ISSN : 2328-9791

Protein structure and function: Methods for prediction and analysis

Ravi Ramesh Pathak

University of South Florida

Morsani College of Medicine, USF, Tampa, FL 33612, USA

rpathak@health.usf.edu

Protein structure and functions that are associated with it have been studied extensively. Traditional methods of studying protein and structure have largely relied on biochemical and biophysical characterization methods. However, these methods rely on the assumption that proteins are largely structured and adopt energetically stable three-dimensional conformations with minimum free energy. The discovery of naturally unfolded proteins or disordered proteins that are characterized by lack of stable tertiary structure paved the way to study hitherto unexplained facets of protein structure and function. There are a number of computational methods that exploit protein sequence information to predict whether a protein is disordered. These are complemented by a number of other tools that allow users to predict protein function based on the occurrence of post translational modifications, short linear motifs and other disorder associated regions driving functional plasticity. These easy to apply and interpret tools are presented in the form of a user-friendly workflow for bench-scientists in the current communication.